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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. foot — a measure
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. current — electric
  6. wake — a trail
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cell — a phone
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. current — happening now
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. current — of water
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cell — in biology
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. leaves — lets stay

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