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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. spell — letters
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. net — after costs
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. tube — a container
  14. net — in sport
  15. ball — a dance
  16. file — a line of people
  17. bark — to shout
  18. ball — a great time
  19. net — for catching
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. spell — a short time
  22. pop — soda
  23. spell — magic
  24. pop — to visit

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