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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. firm — a company
  4. capital — a city
  5. clip — a video
  6. craft — a skill
  7. clip — to cut
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. capital — money
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. firm — steady
  14. perch — the fish
  15. craft — boats
  16. land — a country
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. squash — to crush
  22. firm — decided
  23. squash — the sport
  24. clip — for paper

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