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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. mark — a grade
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. field — farmland
  7. charge — a price
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. field — for sport
  10. charge — in control
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cold — an illness
  13. file — a tool
  14. cue — a signal
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. charge — electricity
  18. craft — boats
  19. cue — for pool
  20. file — a document
  21. cue — a hint
  22. field — a subject
  23. craft — a skill
  24. mark — a trace

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