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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cap — a lid
  3. track — a song
  4. present — the time now
  5. ball — a dance
  6. track — to keep track
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. present — a gift
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cap — of ice
  13. capital — money
  14. present — there
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. ball — a great time
  20. cap — a hat
  21. capital — a city
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. track — a path

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