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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. clip — to cut
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wound — an injury
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. root — of a word
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. root — of a plant
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a match
  15. cell — in biology
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — a committee
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. clip — a video
  21. root — the cause
  22. board — to get on
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. clip — for paper

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