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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. kick — in football
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bound — obliged
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. spell — magic
  10. degree — from a university
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — in golf
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — letters
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — tied together
  21. swing — to play on
  22. degree — temperature
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wind — moving air

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