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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 116 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mark — a trace
  4. bat — the animal
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. track — to keep track
  7. perch — the fish
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to drill
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. bore — to tire
  15. track — a song
  16. track — a path
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. mark — a grade
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bowl — a football final

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