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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 120 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. ground — a position
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. band — a music group
  11. rest — what's left
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — crushed
  17. field — a subject
  18. rest — a break
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. rest — what's left
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. band — a ring
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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