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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. stock — shares
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — a line
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. hand — in cards
  18. game — wild animals
  19. hand — help
  20. game — a match
  21. plane — a tool
  22. cell — a phone
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. ball — a dance

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