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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. plane — a tool
  3. march — music
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wound — an injury
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. mark — a grade
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. march — the month
  14. mark — a trace
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. wound — an injury
  17. march — the month
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. tube — the underground
  20. fall — the season
  21. bore — to drill
  22. tube — a container
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bore — to tire

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