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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. row — a line
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. pass — a permit
  15. cold — not warm
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. tear — from crying
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cold — an illness

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