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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. suit — to fit
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. suit — clothes
  5. squash — to crush
  6. clip — a video
  7. ground — crushed
  8. track — a song
  9. shower — rain
  10. ground — a position
  11. track — a path
  12. squash — the sport
  13. ground — the earth
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. clip — for paper
  16. court — for sport
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — to come from
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. track — to keep track
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — to wash
  24. suit — in cards

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