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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: capital · ball · mark · lean · file · ground · present · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  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 dish
  2. ground — a position
  3. ball — a dance
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. present — a gift
  7. mark — a trace
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. file — a document
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ground — the earth
  12. lean — to bend
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. file — a tool
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ball — a great time
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. lean — thin
  22. present — the time now
  23. file — a line of people
  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