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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. chest — of your body
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. race — humankind
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the sport
  9. rush — hurry
  10. clip — for paper
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tube — the underground
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. can — a tin
  19. clip — a video
  20. chest — a box
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. tube — a container
  24. rush — a thrill

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