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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: bowl · deal · game · capital · ball · wind · dip · scale

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. ball — a dance
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. capital — money
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. dip — to sink
  11. game — wild animals
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. capital — a city
  18. wind — moving air
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. game — a match
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. wind — moving air
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in music

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