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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. last — finally
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. last — final
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. last — to go on
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. row — to paddle
  15. capital — a city
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. capital — money
  19. row — a line
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bowl — a dish

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