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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. hand — in cards
  3. track — a song
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. track — to keep track
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. track — a path
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rest — a break
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. hand — help
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rest — what's left
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. rest — what's left

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