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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. pit — in a race
  4. tube — the underground
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in biology
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pit — a hole
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. tube — a container
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. row — a line
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. stock — goods
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. stock — shares
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bowl — a football final

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