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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. clip — a video
  3. lean — thin
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. pop — music
  13. squash — to crush
  14. net — after costs
  15. lean — to bend
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bound — obliged
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pop — soda
  22. squash — the sport
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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