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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. court — of a king
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cap — a hat
  13. court — of law
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — army training
  16. court — for sport
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. snap — to click
  19. band — a ring
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. cap — of ice
  23. band — a music group
  24. last — to go on

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