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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. tube — a container
  8. game — wild animals
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. content — happy
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. file — a tool
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — music
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rock — to move gently

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