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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. cold — not warm
  3. present — there
  4. fine — high quality
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. spring — a coil
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cold — an illness
  13. squash — the sport
  14. spring — the season
  15. scale — in music
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. scale — size or range
  18. present — a gift
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. spring — of water
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. fine — all right
  24. cold — the Cold War

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