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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. season — in sport
  4. current — happening now
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — to be able to
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. current — electric
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. current — of water
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. can — a tin
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. chair — a leader
  18. kid — child
  19. band — a ring
  20. saw — the tool
  21. season — of the year
  22. band — a music group
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. season — to add flavour

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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