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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cap — of ice
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. last — final
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. last — to go on
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. kick — in football
  15. cap — a lid
  16. stock — shares
  17. last — finally
  18. cap — a hat
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. stock — goods
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. mate — to breed

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