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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. last — to go on
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. can — a tin
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. hand — help
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. season — of the year
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ball — a great time
  18. can — to be able to
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. can — a tin
  21. season — in sport
  22. ball — a dance
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bowl — a dish

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