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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. squash — to crush
  3. clip — to cut
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. clip — a video
  6. rule — government
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. pop — to visit
  12. bark — to shout
  13. clip — for paper
  14. tube — a container
  15. root — the cause
  16. pop — soda
  17. squash — the sport
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. tube — the underground
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. rule — a law
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pop — music

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