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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. file — a line of people
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. club — for dancing
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. club — for golf
  12. wound — an injury
  13. file — a tool
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. wound — an injury
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. file — a document
  21. wind — moving air
  22. club — a group
  23. saw — the tool
  24. fork — in a road

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