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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mug — a face
  3. race — humankind
  4. file — a document
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. squash — to crush
  7. plane — a tool
  8. squash — the sport
  9. drill — army training
  10. mug — a cup
  11. wake — a trail
  12. file — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. file — a line of people
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. race — the arms race
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. fork — in a road
  22. race — a contest
  23. mug — to rob
  24. drill — the tool

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