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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. scale — size or range
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. game — wild animals
  10. drill — army training
  11. game — a match
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. scale — in music
  19. drill — a practice
  20. date — the fruit
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. bat — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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