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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lean — to bend
  4. pass — a permit
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. wind — moving air
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. chip — to eat
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. shower — to wash
  15. lean — thin
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. spring — of water
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. saw — the tool
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. shower — rain
  24. pass — to spend time

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