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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 116 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. kick — in football
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. rest — a break
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rest — what's left
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. wax — to grow
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. kick — a thrill

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