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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. ground — a position
  3. swing — to play on
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. swing — music
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. stock — shares
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. ground — the earth
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. stock — goods
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. squash — to crush
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — the sport
  21. swing — in golf
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. ground — crushed
  24. fall — to drop

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