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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 120 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. season — in sport
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bass — low music
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. face — to confront
  8. spring — the season
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. face — part of the head
  12. spring — a coil
  13. tear — from crying
  14. season — of the year
  15. capital — a city
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. squash — the sport
  20. spring — of water
  21. capital — money
  22. bass — the fish
  23. squash — to crush
  24. season — to add flavour

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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