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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. land — a country
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. fine — high quality
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. drill — the tool
  10. pop — music
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. pop — to visit
  13. fine — all right
  14. capital — a city
  15. drill — a practice
  16. pop — soda
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. capital — money
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. drill — army training

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