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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.

Make a worksheet

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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. file — a tool
  4. stand — to bear
  5. clip — a video
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. file — a line of people
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. file — a document
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. plane — a tool

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