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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 116 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. clip — for paper
  3. capital — money
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — an aim
  11. squash — to crush
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. object — a thing
  14. squash — the sport
  15. perch — the fish
  16. season — of the year
  17. lean — thin
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. drill — a practice
  23. lean — to bend
  24. season — to add flavour

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