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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. band — a music group
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bank — for money
  10. squash — the sport
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bank — of a river
  13. lie — to recline
  14. bank — for money
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. squash — to crush
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. band — a ring
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. clip — for paper
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. clip — a video

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