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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. season — in sport
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. staff — employees
  5. degree — an amount
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. mug — a face
  10. court — for sport
  11. season — of the year
  12. degree — from a university
  13. court — of law
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. court — of a king
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. mug — to rob
  22. mug — a cup
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wound — an injury

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