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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. foot — a measure
  6. bank — for money
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — there
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. present — the time now
  14. cold — an illness
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bank — of a river
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. sharp — clever
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bank — for money
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. foot — the bottom

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