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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. band — a music group
  5. lean — to bend
  6. file — a line of people
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mate — to breed
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. mate — a partner
  16. file — a tool
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. pound — a weight
  20. lean — thin
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. court — for sport
  23. file — a document
  24. pound — to hit hard

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