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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bulb — for light
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. wax — to grow
  10. swing — music
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. swing — to play on
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — letters

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