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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. mark — a trace
  3. race — humankind
  4. season — in sport
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. saw — the tool
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. mark — a grade
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. race — a contest
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. race — the arms race
  18. capital — money
  19. season — of the year
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. capital — a city
  23. scale — in music
  24. saw — the tool

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