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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. file — a tool
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. kid — to tease
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. kid — child
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. file — a document
  23. toast — bread
  24. swing — in golf

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