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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bulb — for light
  9. clip — to cut
  10. roll — a list
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. clip — a video
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. roll — a cake
  17. plane — a tool
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. bulb — for light
  21. squash — the sport
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. rush — hurry

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