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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. snap — to click
  6. pound — a weight
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. plane — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. chip — to eat
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. file — a tool
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. chip — for betting
  16. clip — for paper
  17. squash — to crush
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. clip — a video
  20. squash — the sport
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. file — a document

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