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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 124 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cue — a hint
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pit — a hole
  12. game — a match
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. date — the fruit
  17. cue — for pool
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. cue — a signal
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pitch — a sports field

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