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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. present — the time now
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. row — a line
  6. stem — to come from
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. saw — the tool
  9. row — to paddle
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. spring — of water
  12. squash — the sport
  13. spring — the season
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. plane — a tool
  16. present — a gift
  17. can — to be able to
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. can — a tin
  20. saw — the tool
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. present — there
  23. spring — a coil
  24. squash — to crush

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