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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. row — a line
  3. plane — a tool
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. dip — to sink
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — all right
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. capital — a city
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bore — to tire
  14. mine — for digging
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bore — to drill

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