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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 116 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a great time
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. kick — in football
  8. wound — an injury
  9. spell — magic
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. race — humankind
  13. squash — the sport
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. race — the arms race
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. lie — to recline
  21. race — a contest
  22. spell — letters
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. spell — a short time

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