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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 116 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: bowl · bat · kick · ruler · file · swing

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. kick — in football
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bat — the animal
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — in golf
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. swing — music

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