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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 120 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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the sport
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — rain
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. board — a committee
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. plane — a tool
  15. cell — a phone
  16. snap — to click
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. clip — for paper
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. board — to get on
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. plane — in geometry

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