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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. drill — the tool
  3. game — a match
  4. snap — to click
  5. fall — the season
  6. date — the fruit
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. fall — to drop
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. cap — a lid
  15. fall — to drop
  16. drill — army training
  17. cap — a hat
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. drill — a practice
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cap — of ice

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