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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. cap — of ice
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. saw — the tool
  12. file — a document
  13. tear — to rip
  14. saw — the tool
  15. row — a line
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — to crush
  20. cap — a lid
  21. file — a line of people
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. cap — a hat
  24. row — to paddle

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