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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. game — a match
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. chest — of your body
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. pit — in a race
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bank — of a river
  16. stem — to come from
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pit — a hole
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. chest — a box
  21. bank — for money
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. bank — for money
  24. leaves — of a tree

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