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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pop — music
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. wound — an injury
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. squash — the sport
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pop — to visit
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. clip — for paper
  11. lean — to bend
  12. can — a tin
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. can — to be able to
  15. lean — thin
  16. clip — a video
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. pop — soda
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. squash — to crush
  21. kid — child
  22. wound — an injury
  23. can — a tin
  24. squash — the vegetable

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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