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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 116 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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. drill — army training
  4. hand — help
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bear — the animal
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. hand — in cards
  11. lean — thin
  12. drill — the tool
  13. stock — shares
  14. land — a country
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. stock — goods
  21. wake — a trail
  22. lean — to bend
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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