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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. spring — of water
  4. drill — a practice
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. net — in sport
  8. rock — music
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. lie — to recline
  13. net — after costs
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — in music
  16. drill — the tool
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. scale — size or range
  19. spring — the season
  20. net — for catching
  21. rash — a series
  22. drill — army training
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rock — a stone

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