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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. last — finally
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bear — the animal
  6. track — a path
  7. staff — a stick
  8. land — to come down
  9. staff — employees
  10. track — a song
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bear — the animal
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. last — to go on
  17. hand — help
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. track — to keep track
  20. staff — employees
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. last — final
  24. squash — the vegetable

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