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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. field — for sport
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. field — a subject
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. court — of a king
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. shower — rain
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. court — for sport
  17. capital — a city
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. spring — of water
  20. field — farmland
  21. court — of law
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. shower — to wash
  24. capital — money

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