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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cue — a hint
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. branch — a division
  8. fall — to drop
  9. content — happy
  10. rush — hurry
  11. cue — a signal
  12. hand — help
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. cue — for pool
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. fall — the season
  18. hand — in cards
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. content — the amount
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. fall — to drop

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