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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. last — finally
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. march — the month
  8. fine — all right
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. last — to go on
  11. march — music
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. last — final
  17. fine — high quality
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. march — the month
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. game — a match
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. leaves — to go away

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