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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. squash — the sport
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. spell — letters
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mate — a friend
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. track — a path
  11. squash — to crush
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. spell — magic
  14. track — a song
  15. saw — the tool
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. spell — a short time
  18. mate — to breed
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. bat — the animal
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. mate — a partner
  24. plane — a 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