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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. prune — to trim
  4. file — a tool
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. file — a document
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. can — to be able to
  10. object — an aim
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. foot — a measure
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. object — a thing
  16. prune — to trim
  17. can — a tin
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. can — a tin
  20. squash — to crush
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. object — to protest
  23. band — a music group
  24. file — a line of people

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