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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. stem — to come from
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. club — for dancing
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cell — a phone
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wake — a trail
  17. kid — child
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for golf
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. cell — in biology
  24. straw — dry grass

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