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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. file — a document
  3. last — finally
  4. lean — to bend
  5. last — to go on
  6. lean — thin
  7. saw — the tool
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. saw — the tool
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. last — final
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — for dancing
  16. staff — employees
  17. file — a tool
  18. club — a group
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. file — a line of people
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bowl — a football final

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