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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wind — moving air
  3. toast — bread
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. object — to protest
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. wind — moving air
  9. key — in music
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. key — for a lock
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — letters
  17. key — the most important part
  18. spell — magic
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — for digging
  22. object — an aim
  23. object — a thing
  24. bowl — a dish

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