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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. scale — size or range
  4. wax — to grow
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. scale — in music
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. row — a line
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. fork — in a road
  16. tube — the underground
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. tube — a container
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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