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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 120 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. degree — an amount
  5. march — music
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. season — in sport
  10. march — the month
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. march — the month
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. degree — temperature
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. cell — in biology
  23. land — to come down
  24. arm — part of the body

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