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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. present — the time now
  6. present — there
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. shower — rain
  9. rock — a stone
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rock — music
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. cold — an illness
  16. shower — to wash
  17. rule — a law
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. cold — not warm
  22. present — a gift
  23. rule — government
  24. wind — moving air

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