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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. cue — a hint
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. last — final
  7. cue — a signal
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. branch — a division
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. capital — a city
  14. last — to go on
  15. deal — to handle
  16. last — finally
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. cue — for pool
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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