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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. mark — a trace
  5. file — a tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. last — final
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. mark — a grade
  13. saw — the tool
  14. charge — electricity
  15. last — to go on
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. last — finally
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. charge — in control
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. charge — a price

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