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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. clip — to cut
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. snap — to click
  6. clip — for paper
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. clip — a video
  9. squash — the sport
  10. pitch — completely
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. file — a line of people
  13. foot — a measure
  14. craft — boats
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. file — a document
  17. craft — a skill
  18. file — a tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. craft — a handicraft

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