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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 124 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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. last — to go on
  7. roll — a cake
  8. last — finally
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. last — final
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. roll — a list
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bark — to shout

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