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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 120 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rush — hurry
  3. march — the month
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. bound — obliged
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bound — certain
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bass — low music
  13. march — the month
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. march — music
  17. bass — the fish
  18. squash — the sport
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bound — tied together
  24. squash — to crush

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