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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. file — a tool
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. saw — the tool
  7. lie — to recline
  8. hand — help
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. shower — rain
  11. hand — in cards
  12. shower — to wash
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. squash — the sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wound — an injury
  22. saw — the tool
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. lie — an untruth

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