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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chest — of your body
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. pitch — completely
  10. chest — a box
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — the tool
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. charge — a price
  16. chest — of your body
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. charge — electricity
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. charge — in control
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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