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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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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. land — to come down
  3. spell — a short time
  4. court — of a king
  5. squash — to crush
  6. land — a country
  7. tube — a container
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. band — a music group
  10. court — for sport
  11. land — ground
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cap — a lid
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. tube — the underground
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — the sport
  19. cap — a hat
  20. spell — letters
  21. cap — of ice
  22. band — a ring
  23. court — of law
  24. tube — in a tire

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