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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. net — for catching
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. capital — a city
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. wind — moving air
  12. vault — a safe
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. net — after costs
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. net — in sport
  18. capital — money
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bear — the animal

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