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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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Word bank
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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: dip · bowl · tube · spell · game · pop · rock · leaves

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rock — music
  9. game — wild animals
  10. tube — a container
  11. pop — music
  12. spell — letters
  13. dip — to sink
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. rock — a stone
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — soda
  20. tube — the underground
  21. game — a match
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. leaves — of a tree

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