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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — crushed
  4. prune — to trim
  5. tube — a container
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a line
  8. bank — of a river
  9. wind — moving air
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. prune — to trim
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bank — for money
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ground — a position
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bank — for money
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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