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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rule — a law
  3. net — in sport
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. rule — government
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. roll — a list
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — a trail
  15. roll — a cake
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. tube — a container
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a car

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