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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. tube — the underground
  4. current — electric
  5. swing — music
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. tear — from crying
  9. current — happening now
  10. swing — to play on
  11. current — of water
  12. tube — a container
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. swing — in golf
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bat — the animal
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lie — an untruth

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