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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  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. spell — a short time
  3. spell — magic
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — decided
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. mine — for digging
  16. spell — letters
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. firm — steady
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — in music
  23. key — the most important part
  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