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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. squash — to crush
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. squash — the sport
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bulb — for light
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bulb — for light
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. fall — to drop
  14. kid — child
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. fall — the season
  17. wind — moving air
  18. clip — for paper
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. wind — moving air
  24. clip — a video

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