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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 120 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. spring — a coil
  3. court — of law
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. staff — employees
  6. spring — of water
  7. last — final
  8. court — for sport
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. cap — of ice
  14. court — of a king
  15. face — to confront
  16. band — a ring
  17. cap — a lid
  18. band — a music group
  19. last — to go on
  20. face — part of the head
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. last — finally
  23. cap — a hat
  24. spring — the season

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