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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. plane — a tool
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. cap — a hat
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. spell — magic
  17. perch — the fish
  18. rash — a series
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cap — of ice
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bark — to shout
  24. spell — letters

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