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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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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. craft — boats
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. scale — in music
  5. hand — help
  6. scale — size or range
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. lean — thin
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. hand — in cards
  13. lean — to bend
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. band — a music group
  16. craft — a skill
  17. clip — to cut
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. band — a ring
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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