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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: file · tear · squash · date · roll · last · wound · arm

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. squash — the sport
  3. roll — a list
  4. last — finally
  5. tear — from crying
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. tear — to rip
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — the fruit
  10. squash — to crush
  11. last — to go on
  12. file — a tool
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. file — a document
  16. tear — from crying
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. file — a line of people
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wound — an injury
  21. last — final
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wound — an injury
  24. roll — a cake

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