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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. ball — a dance
  3. present — there
  4. net — in sport
  5. land — a country
  6. ball — a great time
  7. net — for catching
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. drill — army training
  10. wind — moving air
  11. hand — help
  12. land — ground
  13. hand — in cards
  14. present — the time now
  15. wind — moving air
  16. land — to come down
  17. net — after costs
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. present — a gift
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bowl — a dish

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