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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. capital — a city
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. rock — a stone
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. track — to keep track
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. capital — money
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. track — a path
  18. track — a song
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. lie — to recline
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. nail — for a hammer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com