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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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 — to roll
  2. squash — the sport
  3. shower — rain
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. present — the time now
  6. capital — a city
  7. track — to keep track
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. shower — to wash
  11. saw — the tool
  12. squash — to crush
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. track — a song
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. capital — money
  17. present — a gift
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. present — there
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. track — a path
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mouse — the animal

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