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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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468
Word bank
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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. object — an aim
  7. fall — the season
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. key — for a lock
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. ball — a great time
  13. object — to protest
  14. file — a tool
  15. wind — moving air
  16. key — the most important part
  17. kick — in football
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fall — to drop
  20. key — in music
  21. object — a thing
  22. file — a document
  23. wind — moving air
  24. file — a line of people

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