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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. mark — a trace
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. squash — the sport
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. row — a line
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — hurry
  15. row — to paddle
  16. squash — to crush
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. capital — money
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. lean — thin
  21. capital — a city
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mark — a grade

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