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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. chest — a box
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — a partner
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. tube — the underground
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. plane — a tool
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mine — for digging
  21. shower — rain
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mate — to breed
  24. tube — a container

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