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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. can — to be able to
  3. drill — army training
  4. rock — music
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. can — a tin
  9. drill — the tool
  10. file — a document
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. can — a tin
  14. drill — a practice
  15. rash — a series
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rash — hasty
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rock — a stone

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