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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. spring — the season
  3. kick — in football
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. spring — of water
  6. spell — letters
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pop — music
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pop — soda
  13. spell — a short time
  14. perch — the fish
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. spell — magic
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mouse — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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