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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 · racket · rule · hand · track · roll · field · content

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. content — the amount
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. field — for sport
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. hand — in cards
  11. track — a path
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. track — a song
  14. track — to keep track
  15. field — a subject
  16. roll — a list
  17. hand — help
  18. roll — a cake
  19. rule — a law
  20. content — happy
  21. rule — government
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. field — farmland

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