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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  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. squash — the vegetable
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. clip — to cut
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fork — in a road
  10. drill — army training
  11. kick — in football
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — a list
  15. drill — the tool
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. drill — a practice
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. ball — a great time
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. ball — a dance
  23. squash — to crush
  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