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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cap — a hat
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. cap — of ice
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. clip — a video
  12. field — farmland
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. kick — in football
  15. field — a subject
  16. pass — a permit
  17. field — for sport
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. squash — to crush
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. cap — a lid
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bear — to put up with

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