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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: squash · pitch · spell · prune · wind · bark · saw · file

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. file — a tool
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spell — magic
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. pitch — completely
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — letters
  11. saw — the tool
  12. squash — to crush
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. prune — to trim
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. squash — the sport
  22. file — a document
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. squash — the vegetable

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