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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. ground — crushed
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. hand — help
  11. band — a ring
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bear — the animal
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. ground — the earth
  16. hand — in cards
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. scale — in music
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. scale — size or range
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. band — a music group
  23. bear — the animal
  24. ground — a position

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