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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. mug — a cup
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. row — a line
  5. ground — the earth
  6. season — of the year
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. ground — crushed
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. ground — a position
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. row — to paddle
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. mug — a face
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mug — to rob
  24. season — in sport

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