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

Word bank: saw · bowl · cold · tube · mate · wind · ball · bay

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. ball — a dance
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mate — to breed
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. mate — a partner
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mate — a friend
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. cold — not warm
  20. tube — a container
  21. saw — the tool
  22. ball — a great time
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. wind — to turn a key

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