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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. mug — a face
  4. date — the fruit
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. charge — a price
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. charge — electricity
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. charge — in control
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mug — a cup
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. mug — to rob

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