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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. clip — a video
  3. rule — a law
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. clip — to cut
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — government
  9. squash — the sport
  10. mine — for digging
  11. roll — a list
  12. squash — to crush
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. game — a match
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. roll — a cake
  17. game — wild animals
  18. clip — for paper

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