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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. craft — a skill
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cue — for pool
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. season — in sport
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. season — of the year
  12. cue — a signal
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cell — in biology
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bark — to shout
  22. degree — temperature
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

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