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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. suit — clothes
  4. clip — for paper
  5. squash — the sport
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. deal — to handle
  9. race — a contest
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. rash — a series
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. suit — to fit
  14. stock — shares
  15. suit — in cards
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. clip — a video
  19. rash — hasty
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. race — humankind
  22. stock — goods
  23. race — the arms race
  24. branch — a division

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