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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 · pound · face · spell · straw · game · wake · file

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. game — wild animals
  3. spell — a short time
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. game — a match
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. wake — a trail
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. face — to confront
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. file — a document
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. file — a line of people
  20. spell — letters
  21. file — a tool
  22. spell — magic
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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