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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 116 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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. court — for sport
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. cold — an illness
  6. row — a line
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cold — not warm
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — goods
  18. can — to be able to
  19. can — a tin
  20. row — to paddle
  21. court — of law
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. can — a tin
  24. court — of a king

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