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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. spring — a coil
  3. clip — to cut
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. suit — in cards
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. wound — an injury
  9. squash — to crush
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. sharp — clever
  12. spring — the season
  13. clip — a video
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. squash — the sport
  18. suit — clothes
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. pound — a weight
  23. spring — of water
  24. arm — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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