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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — government
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cue — a signal
  10. branch — a division
  11. cue — a hint
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — a safe
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. rule — a law

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