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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. spring — a coil
  3. staff — a stick
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. net — in sport
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. staff — employees
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. net — for catching
  13. pop — to visit
  14. net — after costs
  15. stock — goods
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pop — soda
  21. staff — employees
  22. stock — shares
  23. pop — music
  24. mine — an explosive

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