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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. plane — a tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. shower — to wash
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. file — a document
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. file — a tool
  24. shower — rain

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