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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. tube — the underground
  7. face — to point toward
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rash — a series
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. face — to confront
  15. snap — to click
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — a container
  18. face — part of the head

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