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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. press — to push
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a ring
  6. file — a tool
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. root — of a word
  13. file — a document
  14. drill — a practice
  15. plane — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. drill — the tool
  18. root — the cause
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. drill — army training
  21. press — newspapers
  22. root — of a plant
  23. press — a publisher
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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