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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. hand — in cards
  3. clip — a video
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. band — a music group
  7. fall — to drop
  8. lean — thin
  9. hand — help
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. clip — to cut
  12. squash — the sport
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. squash — to crush
  15. clip — for paper
  16. lean — to bend
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. band — a ring
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — of the year
  24. pitcher — a jug

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