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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — the sport
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. mug — to rob
  5. kid — to tease
  6. snap — to click
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. drill — army training
  9. prune — to trim
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. squash — to crush
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. rock — music
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mug — a face
  20. clip — a video
  21. prune — to trim
  22. kid — child
  23. mug — a cup
  24. rock — a stone

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