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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. field — farmland
  3. club — a group
  4. field — for sport
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. lie — to recline
  7. tube — the underground
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. dip — to sink
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — for dancing
  13. tube — a container
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. field — a subject
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. toast — bread
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. tube — in a tire

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