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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: branch · spell · last · bowl · bulb · ball · track · cap

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. track — a song
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. last — final
  8. cap — a lid
  9. track — a path
  10. spell — magic
  11. track — to keep track
  12. last — to go on
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. spell — letters
  16. branch — a division
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bulb — for light
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bulb — for light
  22. spell — a short time
  23. last — finally
  24. ball — a great time

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