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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 120 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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. wax — to grow
  4. mark — a grade
  5. race — a contest
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. band — a ring
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — the arms race
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — in sport
  23. mark — a trace
  24. band — a music group

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