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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. fall — the season
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. perch — the fish
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. rush — hurry
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. perch — for a bird

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