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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. cold — an illness
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. date — the fruit
  8. march — music
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. march — the month
  11. board — to get on
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. board — a committee
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cold — not warm
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. vault — a safe
  21. dip — to sink
  22. march — the month
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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