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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 116 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cell — a phone
  9. wind — moving air
  10. object — a thing
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. object — to protest
  13. chip — for betting
  14. drill — army training
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hand — help
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. object — an aim
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. wind — to turn a key

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