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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. squash — to crush
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. file — a document
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bat — the animal
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. sharp — clever
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. file — a line of people
  17. chair — a leader
  18. file — a tool
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. swing — music
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. swing — to play on
  24. hide — to keep secret

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