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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: key · fan · file · prune · toast · squash · mate · saw

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. file — a line of people
  4. mate — to breed
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. mate — a friend
  7. key — for a lock
  8. saw — the tool
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. squash — to crush
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. saw — the tool
  16. squash — the sport
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. prune — to trim
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. key — in music
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. key — the most important part
  24. mate — a partner

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