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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 120 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: shower · bowl · game · drill · plane · rule · land · swing

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. plane — a tool
  4. swing — music
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. land — a country
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. land — ground
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. rule — a law
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — army training
  15. land — to come down
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. shower — to wash
  20. game — wild animals
  21. rule — government
  22. shower — rain
  23. swing — to play on
  24. drill — the tool

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