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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. rest — what's left
  4. kid — to tease
  5. land — ground
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. field — farmland
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rest — what's left
  13. land — to come down
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. field — for sport
  17. rest — a break
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. land — a country
  21. field — a subject
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wave — with your hand

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