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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wind — moving air
  4. present — the time now
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wind — moving air
  9. season — of the year
  10. clip — for paper
  11. saw — the tool
  12. present — there
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. clip — a video
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. saw — the tool
  20. season — in sport
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. present — a gift

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