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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. squash — to crush
  5. snap — to click
  6. key — the most important part
  7. land — a country
  8. clip — a video
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. bark — to shout
  14. key — in music
  15. clip — for paper
  16. land — to come down
  17. mine — for digging
  18. clip — to cut
  19. land — ground
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. key — for a lock
  24. mouse — the animal

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