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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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. charge — a price
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — the sport
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. band — a ring
  8. plane — a tool
  9. charge — in control
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. charge — electricity
  14. squash — to crush
  15. row — to paddle
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. band — a music group
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. row — a line
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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