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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. mate — a friend
  3. file — a line of people
  4. root — of a word
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. mate — to breed
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. lean — to bend
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mate — a partner
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. file — a document
  17. cell — a phone
  18. root — of a plant
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a signal
  21. root — the cause
  22. lean — thin
  23. file — a tool
  24. cue — a hint

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