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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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 vegetable
  2. chip — to eat
  3. spell — a short time
  4. chip — for betting
  5. mate — a partner
  6. spell — letters
  7. stand — to bear
  8. spell — magic
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. clip — for paper
  11. mate — to breed
  12. cap — a lid
  13. squash — to crush
  14. swing — music
  15. clip — a video
  16. cap — a hat
  17. squash — the sport
  18. cap — of ice
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. mate — a friend
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — in golf
  24. clip — to cut

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