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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.

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: spring · nail · bowl · lie · kid · saw · ball · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. lie — to recline
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. spring — the season
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. kid — child
  13. march — the month
  14. saw — the tool
  15. spring — a coil
  16. ball — a great time
  17. kid — to tease
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. march — music
  20. ball — a dance
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. spring — of water
  24. bowl — a football final

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