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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. kid — to tease
  4. dip — to sink
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pitch — completely
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. content — the amount
  13. cold — an illness
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. kid — child
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. cold — not warm
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. content — happy

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