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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 120 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. cell — in biology
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. ground — the earth
  9. row — a line
  10. stock — goods
  11. pop — soda
  12. stock — shares
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. row — to paddle
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. ground — a position
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. pop — to visit
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. pop — music
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. perch — the fish

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