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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 116 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. track — a path
  6. track — a song
  7. season — of the year
  8. content — the amount
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. content — happy
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. track — to keep track
  17. shower — rain
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. shower — to wash
  21. stem — to come from
  22. season — in sport
  23. mine — for digging
  24. perch — the fish

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