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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. squash — to crush
  3. land — to come down
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. root — of a word
  9. sharp — clever
  10. fall — to drop
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. fall — the season
  16. squash — the sport
  17. root — the cause
  18. bank — for money
  19. root — of a plant
  20. bank — of a river
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. bank — for money
  24. fall — to drop

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