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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. track — to keep track
  4. spring — a coil
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — in football
  7. file — a document
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. track — a song
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. spring — the season
  19. track — a path
  20. fork — in a road
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. spring — of water

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