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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 116 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the sport
  3. craft — boats
  4. content — happy
  5. clip — a video
  6. spring — of water
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. spring — a coil
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. craft — a skill
  12. clip — for paper
  13. content — the amount
  14. band — a music group
  15. board — to get on
  16. clip — to cut
  17. spring — the season
  18. band — a ring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. board — a committee
  24. content — videos and posts

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