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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. date — the fruit
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. season — in sport
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. current — electric
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — of the year
  12. race — a contest
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. race — the arms race
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. current — happening now
  20. wind — moving air
  21. race — humankind
  22. current — of water
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bark — of a tree

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