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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. ball — a dance
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. perch — the fish
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. spring — of water

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