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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. file — a tool
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the sport
  5. file — a document
  6. clip — a video
  7. rash — hasty
  8. cap — a hat
  9. drill — army training
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. snap — to click
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — for paper
  15. staff — a stick
  16. staff — employees
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cap — a lid
  19. file — a line of people
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. rash — a series
  22. cap — of ice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — a practice

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