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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mug — a cup
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — to visit
  9. clip — a video
  10. root — the cause
  11. pop — soda
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mug — to rob
  14. cold — an illness
  15. squash — to crush
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. mug — a face
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. root — of a plant
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. root — of a word
  24. squash — the sport

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