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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bore — to tire
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. face — part of the head
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. ball — a great time
  13. ball — a dance
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. face — to confront
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. face — to point toward
  24. tube — the underground

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