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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. fall — the season
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. charge — electricity
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — for light
  10. file — a tool
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. mark — a grade
  15. file — a line of people
  16. charge — a price
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mark — a trace
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. saw — the tool
  22. file — a document
  23. charge — in control
  24. saw — the tool

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