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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. squash — to crush
  3. file — a document
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. ground — the earth
  7. fine — all right
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. saw — the tool
  11. fine — high quality
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. ground — crushed
  14. toast — bread
  15. file — a tool
  16. cold — an illness
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cold — not warm
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. ground — a position
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. squash — the sport

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