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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. can — to be able to
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. net — after costs
  5. pit — in a race
  6. capital — a city
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. row — a line
  14. pit — a hole
  15. row — to paddle
  16. capital — money
  17. shower — rain
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. can — a tin
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. shower — to wash
  22. can — a tin
  23. net — in sport
  24. wake — a trail

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