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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rush — hurry
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. clip — for paper
  6. date — the fruit
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. suit — to fit
  9. suit — in cards
  10. row — a line
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. foot — a measure
  13. suit — clothes
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. row — to paddle
  22. clip — a video
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. date — on the calendar

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