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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. band — a ring
  3. face — to confront
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. squash — to crush
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. face — part of the head
  12. band — a music group
  13. clip — a video
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. lie — to recline
  16. face — to point toward
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. dip — to sink

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