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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. pop — soda
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. cell — in biology
  10. ground — a position
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mate — to breed
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pop — music
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to click
  22. cell — a phone
  23. file — a tool
  24. mate — a friend

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