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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 120 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. face — part of the head
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. cold — an illness
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. tube — the underground
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. court — for sport
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. face — to confront
  12. court — of law
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. cold — not warm
  20. court — of a king
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. can — a tin
  24. tube — a container

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