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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. row — a line
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. drill — a practice
  9. prune — to trim
  10. shower — rain
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. row — to paddle
  13. plane — a tool
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. prune — to trim
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. drill — the tool
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. shower — to wash
  24. drill — army training

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