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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. prune — to trim
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. staff — employees
  8. cold — not warm
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. cold — an illness
  12. board — a committee
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. row — a line
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. scale — in music
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. squash — the sport
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — a stick
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. row — to paddle
  24. board — to get on

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