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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 120 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. club — a group
  3. snap — to click
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. cold — an illness
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. kid — to tease
  8. club — for golf
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. cold — not warm
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. club — for dancing
  16. kid — child
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bowl — to roll

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