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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 were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bass — low music
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bass — the fish
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. roll — a cake
  18. wax — to grow
  19. spring — a coil
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. spring — the season
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. spring — of water
  24. roll — a list

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