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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. content — the amount
  5. file — a line of people
  6. march — the month
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. file — a document
  12. content — happy
  13. file — a tool
  14. march — music
  15. deal — to handle
  16. kid — to tease
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — a division
  19. kid — child
  20. march — the month
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. foot — a measure

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