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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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468
Word bank
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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. spell — letters
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. spell — magic
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. fine — high quality
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. press — to push
  17. content — happy
  18. fine — all right
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. content — the amount
  21. spell — a short time
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. press — a publisher

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