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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. stem — to come from
  3. can — a tin
  4. cap — of ice
  5. court — for sport
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. court — of law
  9. season — of the year
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. game — a match
  15. cap — a hat
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. can — a tin
  18. game — wild animals
  19. can — to be able to
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. court — of a king
  22. cap — a lid
  23. season — in sport
  24. bowl — to roll

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