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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. dip — to sink
  7. rock — music
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. row — a line
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. kick — in football
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. game — a match
  19. fork — in a road
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rock — a stone

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