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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. clip — a video
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. file — a document
  9. clip — for paper
  10. last — to go on
  11. bass — the fish
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. last — finally
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. file — a tool
  20. last — final
  21. file — a line of people
  22. clip — to cut
  23. squash — the sport
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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