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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 116 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pit — in a race
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. degree — an amount
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. branch — a division
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pit — a hole
  24. game — a match

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