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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. chest — a box
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — letters
  7. row — to paddle
  8. clip — a video
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. chest — of your body
  11. row — a line
  12. spell — a short time
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. press — newspapers
  15. squash — to crush
  16. press — to push
  17. chest — of your body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. press — a publisher
  20. clip — for paper
  21. squash — the sport
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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