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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. staff — employees
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. net — in sport
  6. staff — employees
  7. clip — for paper
  8. race — humankind
  9. drill — army training
  10. squash — the sport
  11. swing — in golf
  12. clip — a video
  13. race — the arms race
  14. drill — a practice
  15. clip — to cut
  16. staff — a stick
  17. race — a contest
  18. swing — to play on
  19. net — after costs
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. net — for catching
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. swing — music

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