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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. rash — hasty
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. rush — hurry
  7. spring — the season
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rash — a series
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. spring — of water
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pound — a weight
  23. land — a country
  24. saw — the tool

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