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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. pop — soda
  4. capital — money
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. pop — music
  7. saw — the tool
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. stem — to come from
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pop — to visit
  19. chip — for betting
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. saw — the tool
  22. capital — a city
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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