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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · court · content · lie · straw · wave · object · drill

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. object — a thing
  10. content — happy
  11. court — of a king
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. court — for sport
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. drill — the tool
  17. content — the amount
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. object — to protest
  20. court — of law
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — a practice
  23. lie — to recline
  24. object — an aim

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