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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. row — a line
  8. lean — thin
  9. degree — an amount
  10. last — finally
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. lean — to bend
  14. last — final
  15. saw — the tool
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mate — to breed
  20. row — to paddle
  21. mate — a partner
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — for betting
  24. degree — temperature

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