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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 116 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. spring — of water
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. spring — a coil
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. lie — to recline
  9. content — the amount
  10. spring — the season
  11. capital — a city
  12. board — to get on
  13. content — happy
  14. capital — money
  15. kid — child
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. board — a committee
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. bowl — a football final

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