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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. plane — a tool
  7. pop — to visit
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fork — in a road
  14. lie — to recline
  15. cold — an illness
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. pop — soda
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. dip — to sink
  22. pop — music
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cold — not warm

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