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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 116 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bat — the animal
  3. clip — a video
  4. squash — the sport
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pitch — completely
  7. squash — to crush
  8. ground — crushed
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. clip — for paper
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. pound — a weight
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bat — in an idiom

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