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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. squash — the sport
  3. suit — in cards
  4. suit — to fit
  5. file — a line of people
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — clever
  9. swing — to play on
  10. suit — clothes
  11. row — a line
  12. swing — music
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. file — a document
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. squash — to crush
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. file — a tool
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. swing — in golf
  22. row — to paddle
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bark — to shout

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