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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. fine — high quality
  7. ball — a dance
  8. last — finally
  9. field — for sport
  10. key — for a lock
  11. last — final
  12. field — farmland
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. last — to go on
  15. field — a subject
  16. key — in music
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — a container
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. fine — all right
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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