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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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. pitcher — a jug
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rash — hasty
  6. object — an aim
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — hurry
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. object — a thing
  11. object — to protest
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. fall — the season
  14. bulb — for light
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. tube — a container
  23. rash — a series
  24. bulb — of a plant

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