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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. can — to be able to
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. last — final
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. last — finally
  8. rash — a series
  9. can — a tin
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. can — a tin
  15. stock — shares
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. kid — child
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — completely
  22. stock — goods
  23. last — to go on
  24. stock — a soup base

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