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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rash — a series
  3. wind — moving air
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bark — to shout
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. fall — the season
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. rash — hasty
  15. fall — to drop
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. squash — to crush
  19. clip — a video
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. squash — the sport
  23. vault — a safe
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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