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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. ball — a dance
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a committee
  9. degree — from a university
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. capital — money
  13. deal — to handle
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. ball — a great time
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. capital — a city
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. bowl — to roll

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