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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. scale — size or range
  3. sharp — clever
  4. craft — boats
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. ground — a position
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. craft — a skill
  14. mine — for digging
  15. ground — the earth
  16. scale — in music
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. rash — a series
  24. craft — a handicraft

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