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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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. fine — all right
  4. tube — a container
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. wind — moving air
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. toast — bread
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. tube — the underground
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. hand — help
  15. fine — high quality
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. wind — moving air
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. hand — in cards
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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