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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bound — certain
  3. bound — tied together
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bound — obliged
  6. land — to come down
  7. club — for dancing
  8. court — of law
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. court — for sport
  13. land — ground
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — to crush
  16. mine — for digging
  17. club — a group
  18. cap — of ice
  19. club — for golf
  20. squash — the sport
  21. land — a country
  22. court — of a king
  23. cap — a hat
  24. bowl — to roll

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