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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. date — the fruit
  5. roll — a cake
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bulb — for light
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. tube — a container
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. tube — the underground
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. roll — a list
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. hand — help
  24. tube — in a tire

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