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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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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 · mate · pit · straw · craft · leaves · stand · bowl

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. mate — to breed
  3. stand — to bear
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. craft — boats
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. craft — a skill
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — a friend
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. pit — a hole
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. game — a match
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. pit — in a race

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