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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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 dish
  2. mine — for digging
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. mug — a cup
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. stem — to come from
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. row — to paddle
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — to rob
  15. row — a line
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. shower — to wash
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. stem — of a plant
  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