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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. hand — in cards
  8. row — a line
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. spell — letters
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. spell — magic
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. field — for sport
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. field — a subject
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cap — a lid
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. field — farmland
  24. ball — a dance

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