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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: fan · track · squash · mine · pop · rash · foot · file

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. squash — to crush
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. squash — the sport
  9. mine — for digging
  10. track — to keep track
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. pop — music
  13. file — a line of people
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. track — a path
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. rash — a series
  18. file — a tool
  19. foot — a measure
  20. track — a song
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. file — a document
  24. pop — to visit

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