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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. kid — to tease
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to sink
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. kid — child
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cell — in biology
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. cell — a phone

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