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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. net — for catching
  6. club — for golf
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. shower — rain
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. pass — a permit
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. club — a group
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — after costs
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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