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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: plane · deal · bowl · squash · tear · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. tear — to rip
  4. file — a document
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — the sport
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. squash — to crush
  9. tear — from crying
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — a tool
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. file — a line of people
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. tear — from crying

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