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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. squash — to crush
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cell — a phone
  12. file — a line of people
  13. plane — a tool
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bat — the animal
  18. fine — all right
  19. cell — in biology
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. fine — high quality
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. plane — in geometry

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