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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. file — a document
  4. land — a country
  5. band — a music group
  6. firm — a company
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. file — a line of people
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. firm — decided
  12. firm — steady
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. land — ground
  18. band — a ring
  19. field — farmland
  20. file — a tool
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. land — to come down
  24. arm — part of the body

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