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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 120 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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. rash — hasty
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. rash — a series
  9. season — in sport
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. rush — hurry
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. saw — the tool
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. season — of the year
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. deal — to handle
  22. saw — the tool
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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