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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mine — for digging
  12. stock — shares
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fall — the season
  18. sharp — clever
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. stock — goods
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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