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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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 — a dish
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. date — the fruit
  6. fall — the season
  7. plane — a tool
  8. clip — a video
  9. chip — to eat
  10. fall — to drop
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. chip — for betting
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. toast — bread
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. clip — for paper
  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