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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  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. bowl — a dish
  2. rest — what's left
  3. scale — size or range
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. rash — hasty
  8. game — a match
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. scale — in music
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. rash — a series
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. march — the month
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. rest — a break
  20. game — wild animals
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rest — what's left
  23. lie — to recline
  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