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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: lash · club · content · ball · spring · bowl · object · row

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. club — for golf
  3. ball — a dance
  4. club — a group
  5. content — happy
  6. spring — a coil
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. row — a line
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. content — the amount
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. object — a thing
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. spring — of water
  18. object — an aim
  19. spring — the season
  20. object — to protest
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. row — to paddle
  23. club — for dancing
  24. content — videos and posts

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