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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. deal — to handle
  3. file — a line of people
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to click
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. file — a tool
  10. drill — the tool
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bear — the animal
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. drill — a practice
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. scale — in music
  19. bear — the animal
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. mark — a grade
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. file — a document
  24. drill — army training

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