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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. shower — rain
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. file — a document
  8. shower — to wash
  9. plane — a tool
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. file — a tool
  12. staff — employees
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hand — in cards
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. degree — temperature
  21. staff — employees
  22. hand — help
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. staff — a stick

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