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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. saw — the tool
  3. file — a tool
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. file — a line of people
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. file — a document
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. pitch — completely

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