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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. object — a thing
  5. squash — to crush
  6. object — to protest
  7. swing — music
  8. object — an aim
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. clip — to cut
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. game — a match
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. swing — to play on
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bound — obliged
  21. clip — for paper
  22. game — wild animals
  23. swing — in golf
  24. clip — a video

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