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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 120 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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. row — a line
  6. kid — to tease
  7. field — for sport
  8. kid — child
  9. lie — to recline
  10. row — to paddle
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. band — a ring
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. drill — a practice
  20. band — a music group
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bowl — a dish

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