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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. can — a tin
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. cell — in biology
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. kid — child
  10. season — in sport
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. can — a tin
  19. press — to push
  20. press — a publisher
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. kid — to tease
  23. season — of the year
  24. cell — a phone

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