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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bark — to shout
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. fall — to drop
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. fall — the season
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. bat — the animal
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mouse — for a computer

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