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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.

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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. fall — to drop
  3. file — a tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. snap — to click
  8. fall — the season
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. fall — to drop
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. file — a document
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. drill — a practice
  18. stick — a piece of wood

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