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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. root — of a plant
  8. prune — to trim
  9. root — the cause
  10. shower — rain
  11. lie — to recline
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. prune — to trim
  14. shower — to wash
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wake — a trail
  17. lean — to bend
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. lean — thin
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. root — of a word
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bat — the animal

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