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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. rock — a stone
  3. game — a match
  4. spell — letters
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. fall — the season
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. rock — music
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bowl — a dish

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