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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. face — to confront
  6. mug — a face
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. race — a contest
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. face — part of the head
  12. season — in sport
  13. spell — a short time
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. race — the arms race
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. spell — magic
  20. season — of the year
  21. mug — to rob
  22. spell — letters
  23. mug — a cup
  24. race — humankind

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