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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rock — music
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. lie — to recline
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. rash — a series
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. tube — the underground
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. rock — a stone
  18. saw — the tool
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. tube — a container
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bowl — a dish

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