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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 116 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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. squash — the sport
  5. stand — to bear
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pop — soda
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cell — in biology
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pitch — completely
  13. stock — shares
  14. pop — music
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. squash — to crush
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. cell — a phone
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — goods
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. pop — to visit

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