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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. file — a tool
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. track — a path
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — to play on
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the sport
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. file — a line of people
  16. track — a song
  17. file — a document
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. swing — in golf
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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