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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. lean — to bend
  4. cap — of ice
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lean — thin
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — magic
  16. cap — a hat
  17. spell — letters
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. spell — a short time
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cap — a lid

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