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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. saw — the tool
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. cap — a hat
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a dance
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. saw — the tool
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cap — of ice
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cap — a lid
  23. sharp — clever
  24. straw — dry grass

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