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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. clip — to cut
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. cold — not warm
  7. toast — bread
  8. bark — to shout
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — music
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. squash — to crush
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. firm — steady
  19. firm — decided
  20. pop — soda
  21. clip — a video
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. firm — a company

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