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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. file — a document
  6. pop — to visit
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. mate — to breed
  9. capital — a city
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — a permit
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mate — a friend
  15. pop — soda
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the sport
  20. mate — a partner
  21. pop — music
  22. file — a tool
  23. wound — an injury
  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