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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. clip — to cut
  3. land — to come down
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. bulb — for light
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. land — ground
  9. bulb — for light
  10. file — a line of people
  11. land — a country
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. squash — to crush
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. squash — the sport
  21. clip — a video
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. clip — for paper

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