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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 light ________________ burned out.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bulb — for light
  3. chip — to eat
  4. mark — a grade
  5. chip — for betting
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. rule — a law
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. rule — government
  17. mark — a trace
  18. land — a country
  19. bulb — for light
  20. land — ground
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. file — a tool
  24. land — to come down

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