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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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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. file — a tool
  3. squash — the sport
  4. spell — a short time
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mug — to rob
  7. squash — to crush
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. spell — magic
  16. mug — a face
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. shower — to wash
  19. mug — a cup
  20. ball — a dance
  21. spell — letters
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. file — a document
  24. sharp — clever

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