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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bound — obliged
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bound — certain
  12. perch — the fish
  13. bulb — for light
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — not warm
  18. tear — to rip
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. cold — an illness

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