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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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468
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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. present — there
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. swing — music
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. present — a gift
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. swing — in golf
  11. present — the time now
  12. wound — an injury
  13. spring — of water
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. wound — an injury
  16. swing — to play on
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. spring — the season
  22. sharp — clever
  23. wind — moving air
  24. sharp — with an edge

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