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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. land — ground
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. land — a country
  10. wake — a trail
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. land — to come down
  16. foot — a measure
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. snap — to click
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. foot — the bottom

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