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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pop — to visit
  4. squash — to crush
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. stock — shares
  8. file — a document
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. pop — music
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. squash — the sport
  15. pop — soda
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. file — a line of people
  20. rush — hurry
  21. file — a tool
  22. stock — goods
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. rush — a thrill

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