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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pound — a weight
  3. spring — the season
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mark — a grade
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. spring — of water
  9. mark — a trace
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. ball — a dance
  22. spring — a coil
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. hand — help

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