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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. squash — the sport
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. tear — from crying
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. tear — to rip
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. mug — a cup
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. mug — a face
  17. squash — to crush
  18. mug — to rob
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — a measure
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. chair — a leader
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. sharp — clever

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