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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  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. bowl — a dish
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. board — to get on
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. wax — to grow
  6. land — to come down
  7. last — finally
  8. land — a country
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. court — of law
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. board — a committee
  14. last — final
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. court — of a king
  17. cue — a hint
  18. court — for sport
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — for pool
  22. land — ground
  23. last — to go on
  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