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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. club — for dancing
  4. land — a country
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cell — in biology
  7. club — a group
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cold — not warm
  12. land — ground
  13. mark — a trace
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. club — for golf
  18. charge — electricity
  19. bear — the animal
  20. charge — in control
  21. cell — a phone
  22. charge — a price
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bowl — a football final

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