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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. file — a tool
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. squash — the sport
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. game — a match
  11. bound — obliged
  12. pop — soda
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. pop — to visit
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. rule — government
  23. land — to come down
  24. pop — music

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