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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. last — to go on
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bulb — for light
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. scale — size or range
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bulb — of a plant

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