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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. game — wild animals
  5. march — the month
  6. club — a group
  7. drill — army training
  8. capital — a city
  9. bark — to shout
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. game — a match
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a signal
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cue — a hint
  24. game — a kind of play

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