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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. track — a song
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. row — a line
  5. pound — a weight
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. chip — to eat
  9. row — to paddle
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. staff — employees
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. hand — help
  21. track — a path
  22. track — to keep track
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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