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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. swing — to play on
  3. band — a music group
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. band — a ring
  6. mug — a cup
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. ground — crushed
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — music
  11. game — a match
  12. mug — a face
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. ground — a position
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. content — the amount
  19. roll — a cake
  20. roll — a list
  21. content — happy
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mug — to rob
  24. ground — the earth

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