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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. key — the most important part
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. cap — of ice
  9. fork — in a road
  10. content — the amount
  11. key — for a lock
  12. wake — a trail
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. game — a match
  18. key — in music
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. content — happy
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — before a funeral

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