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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. track — a path
  5. bass — low music
  6. rule — a law
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. drill — the tool
  9. file — a document
  10. bass — the fish
  11. track — to keep track
  12. toast — bread
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. kid — to tease
  16. file — a tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. file — a line of people
  20. drill — a practice
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. rule — government
  23. kid — child
  24. track — a song

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