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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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Word bank
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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. content — the amount
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. spell — a short time
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. spell — magic
  8. ball — a great time
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. field — farmland
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. rush — hurry
  15. field — for sport
  16. ball — a dance
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. field — a subject
  22. content — happy
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rush — a thrill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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