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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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Word bank
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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: pop · lean · trunk · drill · game · bowl · file · pitcher

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. drill — the tool
  4. file — a tool
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. drill — army training
  7. lean — thin
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pop — music
  12. drill — a practice
  13. pop — soda
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. pop — to visit
  18. lean — to bend
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. game — a match
  21. game — wild animals
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. trunk — of a tree

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