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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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Word bank
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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: nail · pitcher · squash · foot · ball · plane · file · mate

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. ball — a dance
  5. mate — a partner
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. file — a tool
  8. squash — to crush
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mate — to breed
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. ball — a great time
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. plane — a tool
  18. foot — a measure
  19. file — a document
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. mate — a friend
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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