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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. saw — the tool
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. field — for sport
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. game — a match
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. field — a subject
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. shower — rain
  19. field — farmland
  20. shower — to wash
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. chair — a leader

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