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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. row — to paddle
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. fall — to drop
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. fall — to drop
  10. tube — the underground
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fall — the season
  14. row — a line
  15. shower — rain
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bowl — to roll

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