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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. key — the most important part
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. scale — in music
  12. roll — a cake
  13. tube — a container
  14. key — in music
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. key — for a lock
  23. sharp — clever
  24. roll — a list

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