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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 120 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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. lie — to recline
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. fork — in a road
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pound — a weight
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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