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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. spell — a short time
  3. bat — the animal
  4. capital — a city
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. foot — a measure
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. shower — rain
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. capital — money
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — magic
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. nail — for a hammer

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