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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. face — part of the head
  4. clip — a video
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. face — to confront
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. stand — to bear
  10. squash — to crush
  11. clip — for paper
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. hand — in cards
  14. drill — army training
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. chest — of your body
  18. squash — the sport
  19. clip — to cut
  20. drill — the tool
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. hand — help
  23. face — to point toward
  24. chest — a box

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