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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. file — a tool
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ball — a great time
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. land — to come down
  8. file — a line of people
  9. mug — a face
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. land — a country
  18. squash — the sport
  19. land — ground
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. mug — to rob
  22. mug — a cup
  23. ball — a dance
  24. file — a document

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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