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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. face — part of the head
  3. prune — to trim
  4. firm — decided
  5. cold — an illness
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. firm — a company
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cold — not warm
  11. board — a committee
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. sharp — clever
  15. board — to get on
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. firm — steady
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. face — to confront
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. face — to point toward

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