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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. content — happy
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. squash — to crush
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. content — the amount
  10. squash — the sport
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. band — a music group
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. band — a ring
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bowl — to 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