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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. craft — boats
  4. track — a song
  5. clip — to cut
  6. ground — the earth
  7. track — a path
  8. hand — help
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. roll — a cake
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. craft — a skill
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. track — to keep track
  20. hand — in cards
  21. squash — to crush
  22. roll — a list
  23. ground — a position
  24. squash — the sport

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