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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. prune — to trim
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. file — a tool
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. plane — a tool
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. file — a document
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. file — a line of people
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. prune — to trim
  19. squash — the sport
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. date — the fruit
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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