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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. pass — a permit
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mark — a grade
  12. deal — to handle
  13. game — a match
  14. mark — a trace
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. squash — to crush
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. clip — a video
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. squash — the sport
  24. clip — for paper

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