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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. file — a document
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. rock — music
  12. spring — the season
  13. file — a tool
  14. court — of a king
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. court — of law
  19. perch — the fish
  20. court — for sport
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rock — a stone
  23. file — a line of people
  24. tear — from crying

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