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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.

Make a worksheet

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: temple · bowl · file · sharp · wind · hide · pitcher · land

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. land — a country
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — clever
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. land — to come down
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. land — ground
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. sharp — with an edge

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