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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. staff — employees
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. kid — child
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. mark — a trace
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. kid — to tease
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. file — a tool
  15. game — wild animals
  16. file — a document
  17. staff — employees
  18. mark — a grade
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. fork — in a road
  22. staff — a stick
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. fork — to eat with

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