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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. swing — to play on
  6. hand — help
  7. cap — a hat
  8. net — in sport
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. lie — to recline
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mate — a friend
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. cap — a lid
  18. mine — for digging
  19. cap — of ice
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mate — a partner
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — music

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