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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.

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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. can — to be able to
  3. clip — to cut
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. can — a tin
  6. net — for catching
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. squash — to crush
  11. clip — for paper
  12. squash — the sport
  13. clip — a video
  14. track — to keep track
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. track — a path
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. net — after costs
  21. track — a song
  22. can — a tin
  23. net — in sport
  24. nail — for a hammer

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