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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the sport
  4. clip — to cut
  5. can — to be able to
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. dip — to sink
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. can — a tin
  10. ball — a great time
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. clip — for paper
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. ball — a dance
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. wake — a trail
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. clip — a video
  23. can — a tin
  24. scale — in music

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