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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. mark — a trace
  3. band — a music group
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cell — in biology
  6. field — a subject
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. field — farmland
  9. cell — a phone
  10. field — for sport
  11. mark — a grade
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. object — a thing
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. object — an aim
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. object — to protest
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. band — a ring

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