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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. pop — soda
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mate — a partner
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cold — an illness
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. swing — music
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. vault — a safe
  21. mate — a friend
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. mate — to breed
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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