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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 120 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 came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bass — the fish
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bass — low music
  13. spring — the season
  14. root — of a plant
  15. rush — hurry
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — the cause
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. spring — of water
  24. plane — a tool

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