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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — rain
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. chair — a leader
  10. mate — to breed
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. snap — to click
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. fine — all right

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