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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. face — to point toward
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. ground — crushed
  6. face — to confront
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. file — a line of people
  11. hand — in cards
  12. file — a document
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. ground — a position
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. file — a tool
  19. bass — low music
  20. hand — help
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. ground — the earth
  24. face — part of the head

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