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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: season · ball · land · bowl · drill · wound · present · jam

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. wound — an injury
  4. drill — the tool
  5. land — a country
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. present — the time now
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. present — a gift
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a dance
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. land — ground
  15. land — to come down
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — in sport
  20. drill — army training
  21. wound — an injury
  22. drill — a practice
  23. season — of the year
  24. present — there

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