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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. row — a line
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. march — the month
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. march — the month
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. row — to paddle
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cold — an illness
  19. sharp — clever
  20. march — music
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. fan — to cool the air

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