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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 · toast · racket · tube · drill · file · face · game

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. face — to point toward
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. file — a document
  7. face — to confront
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. file — a tool
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. toast — bread
  14. game — a match
  15. file — a line of people
  16. face — part of the head
  17. drill — the tool
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. drill — army training
  20. game — wild animals
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. tube — a container
  23. drill — a practice
  24. toast — the most admired

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