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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 116 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. row — to paddle
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — a line
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. tube — the underground
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. spring — a coil
  10. hand — help
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. pass — a permit
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. tube — a container
  24. leaves — of a tree

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