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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. file — a tool
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. march — the month
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. march — music
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. track — a path
  11. track — a song
  12. chip — for betting
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. root — of a plant
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. march — the month
  17. root — of a word
  18. track — to keep track
  19. root — the cause
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chip — to eat
  24. perch — the fish

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