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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. ball — a great time
  3. clip — for paper
  4. shower — rain
  5. mate — to breed
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. clip — a video
  10. club — a group
  11. club — for golf
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a dance
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. shower — to wash
  19. squash — the sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wound — an injury
  23. club — for dancing
  24. racket — for tennis

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