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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wind — moving air
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. swing — to play on
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. roll — a list
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. swing — music
  17. season — of the year
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. season — in sport
  24. cabinet — ministers

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