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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. squash — to crush
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. squash — the sport
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cap — a hat
  11. spring — the season
  12. clip — a video
  13. perch — the fish
  14. plane — a tool
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. clip — to cut
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pound — a weight
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. clip — for paper
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. plane — an aircraft

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