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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. rash — a series
  3. squash — to crush
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — to point toward
  7. shower — rain
  8. clip — a video
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. squash — the sport
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. shower — to wash
  15. roll — a cake
  16. rash — hasty
  17. roll — a list
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. face — part of the head
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. clip — to cut
  24. squash — the vegetable

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