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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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. club — for golf
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. cap — a lid
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. club — a group
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. club — for dancing
  11. field — a subject
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. wound — an injury
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a hat
  20. squash — to crush
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. squash — the sport
  23. clip — for paper
  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