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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 116 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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. pit — a hole
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bat — the animal
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. season — in sport
  20. wind — moving air
  21. season — of the year
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pit — in a race

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