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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 116 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cell — in biology
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. cell — a phone
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. land — ground
  7. net — after costs
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. face — to confront
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. fall — to drop
  13. land — a country
  14. net — for catching
  15. face — part of the head
  16. fall — the season
  17. face — to point toward
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. land — to come down
  23. net — in sport
  24. wave — of the sea

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