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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. squash — to crush
  5. key — the most important part
  6. mate — to breed
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — to get on
  9. mate — a friend
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. clip — a video
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. clip — for paper
  14. key — for a lock
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. prune — to trim
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. rush — hurry
  21. key — in music
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rush — to hurry

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