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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. race — a contest
  3. swing — in golf
  4. net — for catching
  5. march — the month
  6. net — in sport
  7. race — the arms race
  8. tear — from crying
  9. swing — to play on
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. chip — for betting
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bulb — for light
  16. race — humankind
  17. tear — from crying
  18. net — after costs
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. bulb — for light
  23. chip — to eat
  24. swing — music

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