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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 124 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. ground — a position
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. ball — a dance
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. ground — the earth
  10. season — of the year
  11. root — of a word
  12. band — a ring
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — help
  15. root — the cause
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. band — a music group
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. root — of a plant
  24. ball — a round shape

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