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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 124 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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. clip — a video
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bark — to shout
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. squash — the sport
  11. clip — to cut
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. clip — for paper
  14. scale — size or range
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. squash — to crush
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — to be able to
  20. can — a tin
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. scale — in music
  24. bark — of a tree

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