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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. land — ground
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. land — to come down
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bat — the animal
  9. land — a country
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — completely
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. ground — a position
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. ground — the earth
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. net — after costs

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