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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. track — a song
  6. lie — to recline
  7. drill — a practice
  8. ball — a dance
  9. drill — army training
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. ball — a great time
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. track — to keep track
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. scale — size or range
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. track — a path
  23. scale — in music
  24. pitch — completely

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