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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. kid — child
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bank — for money
  6. bound — certain
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. drill — a practice
  9. cue — a hint
  10. bank — for money
  11. cue — a signal
  12. drill — the tool
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bound — tied together
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bank — of a river
  19. cold — an illness
  20. drill — army training
  21. bound — obliged
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cue — for pool

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