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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. craft — boats
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. face — part of the head
  9. shower — to wash
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. shower — rain
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. chest — a box
  16. cell — in biology
  17. craft — a skill
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. chest — of your body
  21. face — to confront
  22. cell — a phone
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. chest — of your body

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