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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. squash — to crush
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. file — a document
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. present — there
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. file — a line of people
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. file — a tool
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. pitch — completely
  18. present — a gift
  19. chest — a box
  20. clip — a video
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. present — the time now
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pitch — a sports field

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