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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  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 — for paper
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — the underground
  4. clip — to cut
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. squash — to crush
  10. rash — a series
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. clip — a video
  13. rash — hasty
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. suit — clothes
  16. suit — to fit
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. capital — money
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. suit — in cards
  21. kick — in football
  22. capital — a city
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — the vegetable

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