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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pound — a weight
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — in music
  5. clip — a video
  6. game — wild animals
  7. march — music
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. march — the month
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. march — the month
  19. key — the most important part
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bowl — a football final

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