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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. bat — the animal
  3. key — the most important part
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. squash — the sport
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. plane — a tool
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. key — for a lock
  13. field — a subject
  14. squash — to crush
  15. field — farmland
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to click
  18. field — for sport
  19. bark — to shout
  20. key — in music
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bat — in an idiom

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