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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cue — a signal
  3. mate — to breed
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. mate — a friend
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. game — wild animals
  10. mate — a partner
  11. season — in sport
  12. staff — a stick
  13. staff — employees
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cue — a hint
  17. season — of the year
  18. field — a subject
  19. staff — employees
  20. cue — for pool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. game — a match

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