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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. tear — to rip
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cap — a hat
  11. fall — the season
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mine — for digging
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fall — to drop
  18. face — to point toward
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. face — to confront
  22. cap — a lid
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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