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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cell — in biology
  6. drill — a practice
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. fine — all right
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bark — to shout
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. fine — high quality
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. squash — to crush
  18. tear — from crying
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. bark — of a tree

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