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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · trunk · staff · plane · perch · lean · cold · bowl

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. staff — a stick
  4. lean — thin
  5. game — a match
  6. lean — to bend
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. game — wild animals
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. cold — an illness
  14. staff — employees
  15. perch — the fish
  16. staff — employees
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cold — not warm
  20. plane — a tool
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. game — a kind of play

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