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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 116 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. row — a line
  3. cap — a hat
  4. staff — employees
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. kid — child
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. staff — employees
  12. kid — to tease
  13. tube — a container
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. staff — a stick
  16. prune — to trim
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cap — of ice
  20. lie — to recline
  21. tube — the underground
  22. prune — to trim
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. row — to paddle

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