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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. squash — the sport
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. file — a document
  6. chest — of your body
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. file — a line of people
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — certain
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. chest — a box
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. file — a tool

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