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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: wake · ground · toast · bowl · object · kid · wound · saw

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. object — an aim
  10. saw — the tool
  11. kid — child
  12. object — to protest
  13. ground — a position
  14. saw — the tool
  15. toast — bread
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wound — an injury
  18. object — a thing
  19. ground — crushed
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. ground — the earth
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. wake — a trail

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