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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tube — a container
  4. staff — employees
  5. sharp — clever
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. staff — employees
  9. tube — the underground
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to confront
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. squash — to crush
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wound — an injury
  19. perch — the fish
  20. wound — an injury
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. staff — a stick

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