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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. fork — in a road
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. clip — a video
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. wound — an injury
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mine — for digging
  20. lie — to recline
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fork — a garden tool

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