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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mark — a trace
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. mine — for digging
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mark — a grade
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. saw — the tool
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. pitch — completely
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pitch — a sports field

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