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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. race — a contest
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. chip — for betting
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bore — to drill
  11. race — humankind
  12. bore — to tire
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. rock — a stone
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — to eat
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. file — a tool
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. file — a document

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