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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. kid — to tease
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. hand — in cards
  10. charge — a price
  11. kid — child
  12. vault — a safe
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. charge — in control
  15. hand — help
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. charge — electricity
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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