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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a path
  4. branch — a division
  5. game — a match
  6. last — final
  7. scale — size or range
  8. can — to be able to
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — a tin
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. game — wild animals
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. last — to go on
  18. scale — in music
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. last — finally
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. track — a song
  24. branch — of a tree

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