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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bat — the animal
  7. ball — a great time
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. ball — a dance
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bowl — a football final

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