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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wound — an injury
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. band — a ring
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cell — in biology
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. cell — a phone
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. roll — a list
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. roll — a cake
  24. cell — in a prison

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