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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. file — a tool
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. kick — in football
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. rock — music
  12. sharp — clever
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. file — a document
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. file — a line of people
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. rock — a stone
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lie — an untruth

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