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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. ball — a dance
  4. drill — a practice
  5. row — a line
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. fine — high quality
  8. bark — to shout
  9. fine — all right
  10. file — a tool
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. row — to paddle

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