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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. can — to be able to
  4. band — a ring
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. court — for sport
  8. can — a tin
  9. court — of a king
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. shower — rain
  14. band — a music group
  15. shower — to wash
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. rash — a series
  18. court — of law
  19. branch — a division
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. rash — hasty
  24. can — a tin

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