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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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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 · file · roll · board · field · tear · shower · squash

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. tear — from crying
  3. roll — a cake
  4. field — farmland
  5. file — a document
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. squash — the sport
  8. roll — a list
  9. file — a tool
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. field — for sport
  13. squash — to crush
  14. board — to get on
  15. field — a subject
  16. tear — from crying
  17. board — a committee
  18. shower — to wash
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. shower — rain
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bowl — a dish

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