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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bass — the fish
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cold — not warm
  6. face — to confront
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cold — an illness
  11. face — part of the head
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — thin
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. bass — low music
  22. dip — to sink
  23. face — to point toward
  24. dip — to dunk

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