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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: file · bowl · charge · stick · wind · perch · row · squash

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wind — moving air
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. charge — in control
  7. perch — the fish
  8. file — a document
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. charge — electricity
  17. charge — a price
  18. row — a line
  19. file — a tool
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. squash — the sport
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. row — to paddle

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