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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. net — in sport
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. net — after costs
  6. rash — hasty
  7. vault — a safe
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bear — the animal
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rash — a series
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. drill — the tool
  17. last — to go on
  18. scale — in music
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. last — finally
  22. net — for catching
  23. last — final
  24. drill — army training

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