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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. swing — in golf
  5. track — a path
  6. chair — a leader
  7. swing — to play on
  8. file — a tool
  9. swing — music
  10. perch — the fish
  11. file — a line of people
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. track — a song
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. chip — to eat
  20. track — to keep track
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. file — a document
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chip — for betting

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