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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. face — to confront
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. face — part of the head
  5. cue — for pool
  6. row — a line
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. scale — in music
  10. cue — a hint
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. cue — a signal
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. face — to point toward
  20. row — to paddle
  21. deal — to handle
  22. scale — size or range
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. scale — for weighing

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