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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 120 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. season — in sport
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. wind — moving air
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. wind — moving air
  9. squash — to crush
  10. season — of the year
  11. file — a line of people
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mug — to rob
  14. file — a document
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. mug — a face
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. land — a country
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. mug — a cup

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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