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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. kid — child
  6. lean — thin
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ball — a great time
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. mine — for digging
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. lean — to bend
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. ball — a dance
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. rush — hurry
  24. prune — to trim

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