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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. race — humankind
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. roll — a cake
  5. pit — in a race
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. roll — a list
  8. club — for dancing
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — for betting
  13. saw — the tool
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. race — a contest
  17. pit — a hole
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. club — a group
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. race — the arms race
  22. club — for golf
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bowl — a football final

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