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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. can — a tin
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. game — wild animals
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. game — a match
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. chip — for betting
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. row — a line
  12. can — a tin
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. vault — a safe
  15. row — to paddle
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — to sink
  21. chip — to eat
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. can — to be able to
  24. bowl — to roll

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