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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. staff — a stick
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. staff — employees
  10. can — to be able to
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. can — a tin
  14. bulb — for light
  15. scale — in music
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. can — a tin
  19. staff — employees
  20. scale — size or range
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bulb — for light
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. straw — dry grass

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