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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. chip — to eat
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. last — finally
  6. net — in sport
  7. last — to go on
  8. spring — a coil
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. field — a subject
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — after costs
  13. chip — for betting
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. last — final
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. field — farmland
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. field — for sport
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. bowl — to roll

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