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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 120 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. capital — a city
  6. bat — the animal
  7. track — a song
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. track — to keep track
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. scale — in music
  14. track — a path
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bear — the animal
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bear — the animal
  23. ground — a position
  24. capital — money

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