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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mug — to rob
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mug — a face
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cell — in biology
  24. sharp — exactly

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