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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a tool
  5. content — happy
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. mate — to breed
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. squash — to crush
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. mate — a friend
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cue — a hint
  19. wake — a trail
  20. cue — for pool
  21. content — the amount
  22. mate — a partner
  23. file — a document
  24. cue — a signal

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