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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. row — to paddle
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. lean — thin
  7. clip — a video
  8. capital — money
  9. row — a line
  10. capital — a city
  11. cell — a phone
  12. face — to point toward
  13. craft — boats
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — to bend
  19. face — part of the head
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. craft — a skill
  24. face — to confront

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