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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: file · hand · bowl · pop · foot · spell · row · saw

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. spell — a short time
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. pop — soda
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. saw — the tool
  9. hand — help
  10. file — a document
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. row — a line
  13. file — a line of people
  14. spell — letters
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. pop — music
  18. foot — a measure
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. pop — to visit
  22. saw — the tool
  23. spell — magic
  24. hand — in cards

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