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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — low music
  8. pit — in a race
  9. land — to come down
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. land — a country
  16. chest — a box
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. row — a line
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. pit — a hole
  21. land — ground
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bass — the fish
  24. chest — of your body

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