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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 116 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — for light
  6. tear — from crying
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. swing — in golf
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. track — a song
  15. track — a path
  16. tear — from crying
  17. track — to keep track
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. cold — an illness
  22. vault — a safe
  23. swing — music
  24. cold — not warm

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