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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. file — a line of people
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. file — a tool
  10. stand — to bear
  11. pound — a weight
  12. file — a document
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. hand — help
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. hand — in cards
  19. sharp — clever
  20. wound — an injury
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bore — to drill
  24. pound — to hit hard

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