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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. march — the month
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. march — music
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. cold — an illness
  11. sharp — clever
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — goods
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. toast — bread
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. kick — in football
  19. march — the month
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. sharp — with an edge

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