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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. craft — a skill
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. lie — to recline
  8. clip — for paper
  9. current — happening now
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. race — the arms race
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. current — of water
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. squash — to crush
  17. clip — a video
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. clip — to cut
  20. craft — boats
  21. current — electric
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. squash — the sport
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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