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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. ground — crushed
  3. tube — the underground
  4. last — final
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. ground — the earth
  9. rock — a stone
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. rock — music
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. last — to go on
  16. cue — for pool
  17. ground — a position
  18. last — finally
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. tube — a container
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — a hint

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