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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. cold — an illness
  9. saw — the tool
  10. date — the fruit
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cold — not warm

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