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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. squash — to crush
  3. craft — a skill
  4. hand — help
  5. craft — boats
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. rock — a stone
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. rest — what's left
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rock — music
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. rest — a break
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. tear — from crying
  19. squash — the sport
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. rest — what's left
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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