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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. craft — boats
  6. last — finally
  7. chair — a leader
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. squash — the sport
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. craft — a skill
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. last — to go on
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. last — final
  23. clip — for paper
  24. calf — of the leg

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