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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 120 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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. bowl — to roll
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. stand — to bear
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. cold — an illness
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wind — moving air
  14. foot — a measure
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. clip — a video
  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