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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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 sport
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. rest — a break
  4. cold — not warm
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. clip — a video
  10. fine — high quality
  11. rest — what's left
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cold — an illness
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fine — all right
  17. clip — to cut
  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