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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 116 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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. firm — steady
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. snap — to click
  5. spring — the season
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bass — low music
  8. squash — to crush
  9. firm — a company
  10. spring — a coil
  11. clip — a video
  12. bass — the fish
  13. pitch — completely
  14. clip — for paper
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. squash — the sport
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. firm — decided
  20. spring — of water
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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