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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. scale — in music
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to confront
  9. pound — a weight
  10. face — to point toward
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. scale — size or range
  16. mine — for digging
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. rock — music
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rock — a stone
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. court — of law

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