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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. track — to keep track
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. lean — thin
  10. clip — for paper
  11. squash — to crush
  12. lean — to bend
  13. last — final
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. wake — a trail
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. squash — the sport
  21. clip — a video
  22. track — a song
  23. track — a path
  24. mouse — for a computer

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