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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. file — a tool
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. file — a document
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — high quality
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rash — a series
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. mouse — for a computer

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