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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bound — certain
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bound — tied together
  7. row — a line
  8. sharp — clever
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. bark — to shout
  17. game — a match
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. row — to paddle
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. row — a quarrel

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