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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. spring — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. lean — to bend
  11. spring — a coil
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. spring — of water
  14. fall — the season
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. clip — a video
  17. squash — to crush
  18. fall — to drop

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