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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. spring — the season
  5. wind — moving air
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. spring — a coil
  8. prune — to trim
  9. lie — to recline
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. spring — of water
  14. wind — moving air
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. prune — to trim
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. snap — to click
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. perch — the fish

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