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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. chest — of your body
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. kid — child
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. pop — soda
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. drill — a practice
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. row — a line
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pop — music

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