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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. craft — boats
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. file — a line of people
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. file — a document
  8. saw — the tool
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. row — a line
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. craft — a skill
  15. branch — a division
  16. land — to come down
  17. saw — the tool
  18. squash — to crush
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. file — a tool
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. row — to paddle

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