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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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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 · chip · court · wind · spell · firm · leaves · mate

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spell — letters
  4. chip — to eat
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. court — for sport
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. spell — a short time
  11. wind — moving air
  12. firm — steady
  13. firm — decided
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. spell — magic
  17. mate — to breed
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. mate — a friend
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. mate — a partner
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. chip — for betting

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