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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: bowl · tear · ruler · last · dip · wind · game · net

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. net — after costs
  4. wind — moving air
  5. tear — from crying
  6. net — for catching
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. wind — moving air
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. last — to go on
  17. tear — to rip
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. game — a match
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. net — in sport
  22. tear — from crying
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. dip — to sink

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