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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 120 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. cap — a lid
  5. file — a line of people
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. clip — to cut
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. file — a tool
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. clip — a video
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pitch — completely
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. file — a document
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — a place of worship

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