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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rash — a series
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. prune — to trim
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. staff — employees
  8. bore — to drill
  9. rash — hasty
  10. season — of the year
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. staff — employees
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. cold — not warm
  19. staff — a stick
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. season — in sport
  22. bore — to tire
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bowl — to roll

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