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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. last — final
  5. wound — an injury
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. suit — in cards
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. file — a document
  12. suit — clothes
  13. tube — the underground
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. last — to go on
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. last — finally
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. wound — an injury
  22. file — a tool
  23. suit — to fit
  24. file — a line of people

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