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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. track — to keep track
  9. game — wild animals
  10. season — in sport
  11. deal — to handle
  12. track — a song
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. press — a publisher
  15. row — a line
  16. track — a path
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. season — of the year
  20. press — newspapers
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. press — to push
  24. season — to add flavour

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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