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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — certain
  6. tube — the underground
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. charge — electricity
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. march — the month
  13. charge — in control
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. tube — a container
  19. march — the month
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. march — music
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bound — tied together
  24. charge — a price

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