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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cue — a signal
  4. court — of a king
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. ground — the earth
  7. chest — a box
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cue — a hint
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. season — in sport
  12. court — for sport
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. chest — of your body
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — a position
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bear — the animal
  20. season — of the year
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. court — of law
  23. cue — for pool
  24. bowl — a football final

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