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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a tool
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. squash — the sport
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. spell — letters
  12. content — the amount
  13. hand — in cards
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. spell — a short time
  16. file — a document
  17. fall — to drop
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — happy
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. spell — magic
  22. sharp — clever
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. hand — help

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