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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bulb — for light
  3. track — to keep track
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. track — a path
  9. lie — to recline
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bat — the animal
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. track — a song
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. lie — an untruth

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