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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. clip — a video
  3. squash — to crush
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fall — the season
  6. craft — boats
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. craft — a skill
  11. fall — to drop
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. wound — an injury
  19. scale — size or range
  20. fall — to drop
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. clip — to cut

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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