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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 116 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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. mark — a trace
  3. game — wild animals
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. cold — not warm
  8. snap — to click
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. fork — in a road
  12. game — a match
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. mark — a grade
  21. chair — a leader
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. cold — the Cold War

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