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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. file — a document
  5. land — a country
  6. chest — of your body
  7. land — ground
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. object — to protest
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. object — a thing
  13. season — of the year
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. land — to come down
  20. object — an aim
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. season — in sport

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