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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. game — wild animals
  3. spell — magic
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. spell — letters
  10. date — the fruit
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mate — a partner
  13. game — a match
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. branch — a division
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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