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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. file — a line of people
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. track — to keep track
  6. file — a tool
  7. net — for catching
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bear — the animal
  13. track — a song
  14. net — in sport
  15. bear — the animal
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. net — after costs
  20. track — a path
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. file — a document
  24. snap — to click

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