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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 116 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. kid — child
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. content — happy
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — boats
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. kid — to tease
  11. plane — a tool
  12. squash — to crush
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — a container
  16. content — the amount
  17. squash — the sport
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a line
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. plane — an aircraft

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