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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. squash — to crush
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. last — final
  8. clip — for paper
  9. last — finally
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — of the year
  12. pitch — completely
  13. shower — rain
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. shower — to wash
  18. last — to go on
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — hasty
  21. squash — the sport
  22. stem — to come from
  23. clip — to cut
  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