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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  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. shower — rain
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. game — wild animals
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. chair — a leader
  10. spring — a coil
  11. fine — all right
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. fine — high quality
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. shower — to wash
  23. game — a match
  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