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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · bowl · rule · bat · row · chip

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. toast — bread
  6. row — to paddle
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. chip — to eat
  10. rule — government
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. row — a line
  14. rule — a law
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chip — for betting

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