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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chip — for betting
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bulb — for light
  9. file — a tool
  10. bat — the animal
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. file — a document
  13. bass — low music
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. chip — to eat
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. file — a line of people

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