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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: cell · pound · bay · bowl · rule · roll · file · rock

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. rule — government
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. rule — a law
  12. roll — a cake
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. pound — a weight
  15. roll — a list
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. file — a tool
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rock — music
  22. file — a document
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. rock — a stone

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