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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. clip — to cut
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bulb — for light
  8. mug — a cup
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mug — to rob
  12. stem — to come from
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mug — a face
  15. clip — for paper
  16. chest — a box
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bulb — for light
  20. squash — to crush
  21. clip — a video
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. chest — of your body
  24. nail — on a finger

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