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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. last — final
  4. chip — for betting
  5. last — finally
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. rash — hasty
  8. pop — soda
  9. club — for golf
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pop — music
  12. last — to go on
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. pop — to visit
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. club — a group
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. lie — to recline
  19. chip — to eat
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. club — for dancing
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bowl — to roll

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