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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. file — a line of people
  3. squash — to crush
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — a thing
  6. squash — the sport
  7. field — for sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. face — part of the head
  10. field — a subject
  11. file — a document
  12. roll — a list
  13. face — to confront
  14. fork — in a road
  15. wind — moving air
  16. object — to protest
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. file — a tool
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. field — farmland

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