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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: spell · cap · bowl · ball · tear · roll · game · last

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. roll — a list
  7. spell — a short time
  8. last — to go on
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — a lid
  12. ball — a great time
  13. last — finally
  14. cap — of ice
  15. roll — a cake
  16. game — a match
  17. spell — letters
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a dance
  20. tear — from crying
  21. last — final
  22. spell — magic
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. game — wild animals

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