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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — to visit
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. clip — a video
  18. squash — the sport
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. stem — to come from
  21. sharp — clever
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. stem — of a plant

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