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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. kid — to tease
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. degree — temperature
  7. season — in sport
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. degree — an amount
  12. chair — a leader
  13. kid — child
  14. bass — the fish
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bass — low music
  17. dip — to sink
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. season — of the year
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. chair — a professorship

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