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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. perch — the fish
  3. firm — steady
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. firm — a company
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. lean — thin
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. race — a contest
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. lean — to bend
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — humankind
  16. capital — a city
  17. firm — decided
  18. wound — an injury
  19. capital — money
  20. wound — an injury
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bowl — a football final

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