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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. game — a match
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. game — wild animals
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. chair — a leader
  16. court — of a king
  17. deal — to handle
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — a line
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mate — to breed
  24. row — to paddle

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