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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. rock — music
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. fall — the season
  13. row — to paddle
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. squash — the sport
  19. rock — a stone
  20. vault — a safe
  21. row — a line
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pitch — completely
  24. row — a quarrel

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