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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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. shower — to wash
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. fall — to drop
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. club — for dancing
  10. kid — to tease
  11. fall — to drop
  12. kid — child
  13. sharp — clever
  14. club — a group
  15. plane — a tool
  16. fall — the season
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. toast — bread
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. club — for golf
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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