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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. hand — help
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. can — a tin
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — for dancing
  9. last — final
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. club — a group
  18. can — to be able to
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. hand — in cards
  24. can — a tin

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