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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. can — a tin
  7. lie — to recline
  8. can — a tin
  9. hand — help
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cue — a hint
  12. shower — rain
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. can — to be able to
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. hand — in cards
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. cue — for pool
  24. perch — the fish

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