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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. drill — the tool
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. spring — of water
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. spring — a coil
  10. drill — army training
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pit — in a race
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. spell — magic
  15. wax — to grow
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bound — certain
  18. pit — a hole
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. spell — letters
  22. spring — the season
  23. bound — obliged
  24. wax — in the ear

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