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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. drill — a practice
  3. ground — crushed
  4. file — a tool
  5. spell — magic
  6. drill — army training
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. drill — the tool
  9. file — a document
  10. spell — letters
  11. plane — a tool
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. ground — the earth
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. squash — the sport
  22. file — a line of people
  23. ground — a position
  24. squash — the vegetable

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