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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. last — final
  8. present — there
  9. present — a gift
  10. capital — money
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. present — the time now
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stand — to bear
  16. capital — a city
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. shower — rain
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. shower — to wash
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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