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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: ball · fall · racket · suit · fork · bowl · mine · cold

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fork — in a road
  8. suit — to fit
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. suit — in cards
  11. ball — a great time
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. suit — clothes
  17. fall — to drop
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. fall — the season
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fall — to drop
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a dance

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