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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. row — a line
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. last — finally
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. last — to go on
  17. field — for sport
  18. last — final
  19. squash — the sport
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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