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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. race — the arms race
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. pop — to visit
  7. chair — a leader
  8. mug — a cup
  9. last — to go on
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. race — humankind
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. pop — soda
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. race — a contest
  16. scale — size or range
  17. mug — a face
  18. last — finally
  19. pop — music
  20. last — final
  21. mug — to rob
  22. scale — in music
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. file — a document

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