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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. swing — to play on
  3. rash — a series
  4. swing — in golf
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. squash — to crush
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. rash — hasty
  10. wind — moving air
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. squash — the sport
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a leader
  16. swing — music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. clip — a video
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wind — moving air
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. clip — to cut

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