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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mate — a friend
  3. plane — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. object — an aim
  6. file — a tool
  7. shower — to wash
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. cold — an illness
  10. shower — rain
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. object — to protest
  13. squash — the sport
  14. file — a line of people
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. object — a thing
  17. squash — to crush
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. mate — a partner
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. mate — to breed
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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