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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 120 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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. dip — to sink
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. squash — to crush
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. squash — the sport
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. last — to go on
  16. clip — a video
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. sharp — clever
  20. last — finally
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. last — final
  23. march — music
  24. plane — a tool

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