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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. land — ground
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. plane — a tool
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — certain
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bound — obliged
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. land — a country
  21. bat — the animal
  22. land — to come down
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. cold — an illness

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