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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 116 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: cabinet · season · tube · bowl · row · racket · file · last

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. last — final
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. tube — a container
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. file — a document
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. last — to go on
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. file — a tool
  14. row — a line
  15. last — finally
  16. file — a line of people
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. row — to paddle
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. season — in sport
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. racket — for tennis

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