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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 116 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. row — a line
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. last — to go on
  5. root — the cause
  6. rash — hasty
  7. last — final
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. season — in sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. last — finally
  14. root — of a plant
  15. wake — a trail
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. root — of a word
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. rash — a series
  22. row — to paddle
  23. season — of the year
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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