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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. face — to confront
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. face — to point toward
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. squash — the sport
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rest — what's left
  11. face — part of the head
  12. clip — a video
  13. season — in sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bulb — for light
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bulb — for light
  20. season — of the year
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. season — to add flavour

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