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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 116 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rush — hurry
  3. saw — the tool
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. object — a thing
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. object — to protest
  9. object — an aim
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. clip — a video
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. squash — the sport
  22. clip — for paper
  23. file — a line of people
  24. squash — to crush

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