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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. tear — from crying
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. board — to get on
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. board — a committee
  11. pound — a weight
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. tear — from crying
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. cold — an illness
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bowl — to roll

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