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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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. lie — to recline
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. file — a document
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — hurry
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — the time now
  12. clip — a video
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. clip — to cut
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. file — a line of people
  19. dip — to sink
  20. file — a tool
  21. present — there
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. clip — for paper
  24. temple — a place of worship

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