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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. swing — to play on
  4. root — of a word
  5. file — a line of people
  6. tear — from crying
  7. root — the cause
  8. can — a tin
  9. swing — music
  10. can — to be able to
  11. tear — from crying
  12. root — of a plant
  13. vault — a safe
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. swing — in golf
  18. snap — to click
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. tear — to rip
  23. can — a tin
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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