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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 120 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. clip — a video
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. track — a path
  6. clip — for paper
  7. key — for a lock
  8. squash — to crush
  9. drill — army training
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. key — in music
  12. track — a song
  13. drill — the tool
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. key — the most important part
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. drill — a practice
  23. track — to keep track
  24. bowl — a football final

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