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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. squash — to crush
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. cold — an illness
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. squash — the sport
  10. cold — not warm
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. clip — for paper
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. clip — a video
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a committee
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pound — a weight
  24. leaves — of a tree

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