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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. season — in sport
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. can — a tin
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. can — to be able to
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. field — farmland
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. capital — a city
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — for sport
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — of the year
  21. can — a tin
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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