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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. field — for sport
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. chest — of your body
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. chest — a box
  10. field — farmland
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. firm — a company
  13. scale — size or range
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. field — a subject
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. roll — a list
  21. firm — steady
  22. firm — decided
  23. scale — in music
  24. sharp — with an edge

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