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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. swing — to play on
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. file — a document
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. file — a tool
  12. march — the month
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — music
  15. march — music
  16. file — a line of people
  17. object — an aim
  18. kid — to tease
  19. march — the month
  20. kid — child
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. object — to protest
  24. object — a thing

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