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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. 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. bowl — a dish
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. file — a line of people
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. court — for sport
  7. face — to point toward
  8. court — of a king
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. track — a song
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a path
  15. wound — an injury
  16. face — to confront
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. court — of law
  20. toast — bread
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — in a race
  24. 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