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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. saw — the tool
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. face — part of the head
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — for golf
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. club — a group
  13. face — to confront
  14. lean — thin
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. lean — to bend
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. face — to point toward
  22. saw — the tool
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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