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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. plane — a tool
  5. clip — for paper
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. wound — an injury
  12. clip — to cut
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. clip — a video

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