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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bear — the animal
  4. track — a song
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. vault — a safe
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. club — for dancing
  10. face — to point toward
  11. track — a path
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bear — the animal
  15. club — a group
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. wind — moving air
  18. saw — the tool
  19. club — for golf
  20. face — part of the head
  21. saw — the tool
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. face — to confront
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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