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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. stem — to come from
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. perch — the fish
  9. rule — a law
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. swing — to play on
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rule — government
  24. swing — music

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