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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. foot — a measure
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. roll — a cake
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — a trace
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. roll — a list
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. kick — in football
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — hurry
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. mine — for digging

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