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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. net — in sport
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. rest — what's left
  7. squash — the sport
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rest — a break
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. sharp — clever
  18. squash — to crush
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — after costs
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. rest — what's left

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