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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. object — to protest
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mark — a grade
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. mark — a trace
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. board — a committee
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cold — not warm
  21. board — to get on
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — an aim

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