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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. race — a contest
  4. spell — magic
  5. land — ground
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. spell — a short time
  8. land — a country
  9. race — humankind
  10. spell — letters
  11. drill — army training
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. ball — a great time
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. land — to come down
  18. race — the arms race
  19. ball — a dance
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. pitch — completely
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. nail — for a hammer

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