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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. wind — moving air
  3. perch — the fish
  4. clip — to cut
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. squash — the sport
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bear — the animal

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