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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. row — a line
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. net — in sport
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. net — after costs
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. net — for catching
  16. band — a ring
  17. mark — a trace
  18. band — a music group
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. mark — a grade
  22. row — to paddle
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — to eat

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