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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. kick — in football
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. face — to confront
  12. row — a line
  13. row — to paddle
  14. file — a tool
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. net — in sport
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bat — in an idiom

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