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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. last — finally
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. last — final
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. row — to paddle
  9. last — to go on
  10. deal — to handle
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to sink
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. land — a country
  22. date — the fruit
  23. row — a line
  24. bowl — to roll

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