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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. spring — the season
  5. craft — boats
  6. kid — child
  7. file — a document
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wake — a trail
  12. spring — a coil
  13. snap — to click
  14. spring — of water
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. craft — a skill
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. stem — to come from
  22. file — a tool
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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