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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. squash — the sport
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to bend
  10. fork — in a road
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. file — a line of people
  17. squash — to crush
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. roll — a cake
  21. wax — to grow
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. roll — a list
  24. squash — the vegetable

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