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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mate — a friend
  4. ball — a dance
  5. mate — a partner
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bark — to shout
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. dip — to sink
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. ball — a great time

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