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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 116 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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. row — to paddle
  3. last — to go on
  4. file — a tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. degree — from a university
  7. file — a document
  8. squash — the sport
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. degree — an amount
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — a container
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. file — a line of people
  19. tube — the underground
  20. row — a line
  21. degree — temperature
  22. prune — to trim
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — a trainer

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