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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. root — of a word
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bulb — for light
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. file — a document
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — the cause
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. hand — help
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. vault — a safe
  22. season — in sport
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. hand — part of the 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