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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. season — of the year
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. season — in sport
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. chair — a leader
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — army training
  22. bear — the animal
  23. tear — to rip
  24. drill — the tool

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