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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — thin
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. fine — all right
  8. row — a line
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. key — in music
  13. fine — high quality
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. cell — in biology
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — a match
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. key — the most important part
  24. game — wild animals

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