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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. band — a music group
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. hand — help
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. hand — in cards
  16. band — a ring
  17. cell — in biology
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. row — a line
  23. cell — a phone
  24. band — a rubber band

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