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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. bark — to shout
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rock — a stone
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. rock — music
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. rash — a series
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. root — the cause
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. cold — not warm
  20. root — of a word
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. root — of a plant
  24. cold — an illness

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