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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. face — part of the head
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. file — a line of people
  9. face — to confront
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. row — a line
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. saw — the tool
  15. file — a document
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. saw — the tool
  18. row — to paddle
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. file — a tool
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. face — to point toward
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. kick — in football

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