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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. content — the amount
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. last — to go on
  10. file — a tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. last — finally
  13. content — happy
  14. last — final
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. roll — a list
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. file — a document
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. roll — a cake
  23. band — a music group
  24. wind — moving air

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