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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. clip — for paper
  4. file — a tool
  5. clip — to cut
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — of ice
  12. lean — thin
  13. row — to paddle
  14. fine — high quality
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. cap — a hat
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. clip — a video
  22. row — a line
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. lean — to bend

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