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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: bowl · bear · lean · pit · squash · ball · cold · cell

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. cell — a phone
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. ball — a great time
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. squash — the sport
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. pit — a hole
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cell — in biology
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cold — not warm
  19. ball — a dance
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. lean — thin
  24. squash — the vegetable

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