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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. roll — a cake
  3. net — for catching
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. sharp — clever
  7. court — of a king
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. net — in sport
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — wild animals
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. court — for sport
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. shower — to wash
  19. net — after costs
  20. court — of law
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. roll — a list
  23. shower — rain
  24. game — a match

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