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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. capital — a city
  6. roll — a list
  7. march — the month
  8. capital — money
  9. land — a country
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. roll — a cake
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. land — to come down
  17. wind — moving air
  18. march — music
  19. land — ground
  20. sharp — clever
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a great time
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. ball — a dance

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