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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. season — in sport
  3. spell — letters
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. spell — magic
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — a hole
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. spell — a short time
  14. fine — high quality
  15. bat — the animal
  16. season — of the year
  17. shower — rain
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pit — in a race
  23. shower — to wash
  24. ruler — for measuring

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