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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. roll — a cake
  6. prune — to trim
  7. field — a subject
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — in football
  12. field — farmland
  13. band — a ring
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. band — a music group
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. sharp — clever
  18. field — for sport
  19. roll — a list
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. roll — on a roll

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