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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. charge — electricity
  8. row — a line
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. content — the amount
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — a price
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. court — of a king
  20. spell — magic
  21. row — to paddle
  22. spell — a short time
  23. content — happy
  24. spell — letters

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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