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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. tear — from crying
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. tear — to rip
  8. wind — moving air
  9. scale — size or range
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. tear — from crying
  13. scale — in music
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pass — a permit
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. season — of the year
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. season — in sport

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