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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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 — to crush
  2. lean — thin
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. fall — the season
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — rain
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. squash — the sport
  9. clip — a video
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. foot — a measure
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — to drop
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. content — the amount
  17. rest — what's left
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. content — happy
  20. clip — to cut
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. lean — to bend
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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