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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  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. squash — the sport
  2. stand — to bear
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. roll — a list
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to click
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. date — the fruit
  16. squash — to crush
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. roll — a cake
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. sharp — clever
  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