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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. pop — music
  3. face — to point toward
  4. firm — decided
  5. pop — soda
  6. race — the arms race
  7. clip — for paper
  8. kid — to tease
  9. firm — a company
  10. present — the time now
  11. clip — a video
  12. firm — steady
  13. face — part of the head
  14. present — there
  15. face — to confront
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. squash — the sport
  18. clip — to cut
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. present — a gift
  21. race — a contest
  22. pop — to visit
  23. race — humankind
  24. kid — child

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