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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. stock — goods
  5. cold — not warm
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. row — a line
  13. season — of the year
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. net — after costs
  16. charge — a price
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. charge — in control
  19. cold — an illness
  20. row — to paddle
  21. stock — shares
  22. net — for catching
  23. season — in sport
  24. net — in sport

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