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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bore — to tire
  5. club — for dancing
  6. field — a subject
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. field — farmland
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — hasty
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — a group
  18. field — for sport
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bore — to drill
  23. clip — a video
  24. wind — to turn a key

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