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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cold — an illness
  3. march — music
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cold — not warm
  14. board — to get on
  15. perch — the fish
  16. board — a committee
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. perch — for a bird

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