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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. object — to protest
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. march — music
  5. capital — a city
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. kick — in football
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. capital — money
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. roll — a cake
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. roll — a list
  19. march — the month
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. object — an aim
  22. march — the month
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. object — a thing

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