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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. file — a tool
  5. track — to keep track
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kid — to tease
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cell — a phone
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cell — in biology
  14. squash — to crush
  15. object — to protest
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. file — a document
  18. object — an aim
  19. track — a song
  20. deal — to handle
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. object — a thing
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. track — a path

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