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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bat — the animal
  4. ground — a position
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pop — soda
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. ball — a dance
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ball — a great time
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. ground — crushed
  17. wind — moving air
  18. drill — a practice
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — to visit

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