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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. club — for dancing
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. mark — a trace
  5. squash — the sport
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. club — for golf
  8. kid — child
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. mark — a grade
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spell — a short time
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. spell — magic
  15. file — a document
  16. squash — to crush
  17. spell — letters
  18. toast — bread
  19. club — a group
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. kid — to tease
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. squash — the vegetable

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