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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. roll — a list
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. mate — a friend
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — happy
  11. roll — a cake
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. season — in sport
  16. wound — an injury
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. wound — an injury
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mate — a partner
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. coach — a trainer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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