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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. squash — to crush
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. chest — of your body
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. chest — a box
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. chest — of your body
  12. clip — a video
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. clip — to cut
  16. root — of a plant
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. clip — for paper
  19. squash — the sport
  20. root — the cause
  21. ball — a dance
  22. root — of a word
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. ball — a great time

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