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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. last — final
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bound — tied together
  6. field — farmland
  7. bass — low music
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. last — finally
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. last — to go on
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bound — certain
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wake — a trail
  18. field — a subject
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. field — for sport
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. plane — a tool
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. bass — the fish

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