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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. scale — in music
  3. lean — thin
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rush — hurry
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. clip — a video
  9. game — a match
  10. clip — for paper
  11. present — the time now
  12. object — a thing
  13. squash — to crush
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. object — to protest
  16. squash — the sport
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. object — an aim
  21. scale — size or range
  22. lean — to bend
  23. present — there
  24. present — a gift

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