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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. current — of water
  5. bore — to drill
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. current — electric
  9. snap — to click
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. clip — a video
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. bore — to tire
  18. clip — to cut
  19. land — a country
  20. clip — for paper
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. current — happening now

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