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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. pit — a hole
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. clip — to cut
  7. craft — a skill
  8. pit — in a race
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rash — a series
  11. clip — a video
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. craft — boats
  23. bass — low music
  24. rash — hasty

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