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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 120 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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bound — certain
  6. land — ground
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. land — a country
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. bound — tied together
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. land — to come down
  15. wind — moving air
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a tool
  18. bound — obliged

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