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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 116 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. drill — a practice
  7. lean — thin
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. rash — hasty
  13. file — a document
  14. rash — a series
  15. file — a tool
  16. can — a tin
  17. drill — the tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. lean — to bend
  20. game — a match
  21. drill — army training
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — to come from
  24. game — wild animals

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