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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bowl · bat · calf · root · lie · tube · file · jam

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. root — of a word
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — a container
  6. root — of a plant
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. bat — the animal
  12. file — a tool
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. file — a document
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. root — the cause
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. lie — to recline
  24. file — a line of people

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