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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 120 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. cell — in biology
  3. object — to protest
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. object — a thing
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. net — after costs
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. object — an aim
  15. content — happy
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — videos and posts

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