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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. squash — the sport
  5. face — to point toward
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. file — a tool
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. squash — to crush
  15. file — a line of people
  16. saw — the tool
  17. face — part of the head
  18. saw — the tool
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. face — to confront
  23. file — a document
  24. bear — the animal

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