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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. file — a document
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. swing — in golf
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mine — for digging
  10. clip — a video
  11. swing — to play on
  12. file — a line of people
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. wind — moving air
  21. squash — the sport
  22. perch — the fish
  23. swing — music
  24. file — a tool

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