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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  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. squash — the sport
  3. race — a contest
  4. tube — a container
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. saw — the tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. race — the arms race
  10. squash — to crush
  11. chest — a box
  12. plane — a tool
  13. race — humankind
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. saw — the 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