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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bear — the animal
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. root — of a word
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. deal — to handle
  17. pitch — completely
  18. root — the cause
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. root — of a plant
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — a dish

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