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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  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. land — ground
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bark — to shout
  5. land — a country
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. spring — the season
  8. board — to get on
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. spring — a coil
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. board — a committee
  13. ball — a great time
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. ball — a dance
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. spring — of water
  20. lie — to recline
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. land — to come down
  23. plane — a tool
  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