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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. stock — shares
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. clip — a video
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. tube — a container
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stock — goods
  11. vault — a safe
  12. squash — the sport
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. date — the fruit
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. clip — for paper
  22. squash — to crush
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — in a race

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