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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. squash — to crush
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. court — of a king
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. sharp — clever
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. court — of law
  19. race — humankind
  20. squash — the sport
  21. court — for sport
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. race — a contest

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