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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. spell — letters
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. court — for sport
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. craft — boats
  12. rash — hasty
  13. spell — magic
  14. capital — money
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. craft — a skill
  19. spell — a short time
  20. scale — size or range
  21. capital — a city
  22. rash — a series
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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