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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. sharp — clever
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. content — happy
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. content — the amount
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. rush — hurry
  20. squash — the sport
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. clip — a video
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bat — the animal

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