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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. branch — a division
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. spell — magic
  9. land — ground
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — a short time
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. land — a country
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. staff — employees
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — a stick
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. land — to come down

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