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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. chair — a leader
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. current — of water
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. current — happening now
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. clip — for paper
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. clip — to cut
  19. date — the fruit
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. spell — letters
  22. squash — the sport
  23. clip — a video
  24. current — electric

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