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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. ground — a position
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. ground — crushed
  9. rash — a series
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. ground — the earth
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. face — to point toward
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. face — to confront
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. face — part of the head
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bowl — to roll

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