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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — the sport
  3. content — happy
  4. lean — to bend
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. file — a document
  11. content — the amount
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. file — a tool
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. plane — a tool
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. squash — to crush
  20. lean — thin
  21. pitch — completely
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. file — a line of people

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