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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. foot — a measure
  8. last — final
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. staff — employees
  11. shower — rain
  12. last — to go on
  13. bound — obliged
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. last — finally
  18. staff — employees
  19. game — a match
  20. bound — tied together
  21. staff — a stick
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bound — certain

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