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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. game — a match
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. rock — a stone
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. file — a tool
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. bat — the animal
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rock — music
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. bat — in an idiom

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