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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: row · mate · deal · squash · chest · saw · plane · object

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. object — an aim
  4. object — to protest
  5. saw — the tool
  6. object — a thing
  7. chest — of your body
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. row — a line
  10. saw — the tool
  11. plane — a tool
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. mate — a friend
  15. chest — of your body
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. squash — to crush
  19. chest — a box
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. squash — the sport
  22. mate — to breed
  23. deal — to handle
  24. row — to paddle

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