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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. spell — letters
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. mug — a face
  11. spell — magic
  12. mug — a cup
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fine — all right
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. spell — a short time
  19. sharp — clever
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. mug — to rob
  24. coach — a trainer

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