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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. present — the time now
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. present — there
  7. squash — to crush
  8. fall — to drop
  9. branch — a division
  10. squash — the sport
  11. season — in sport
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. clip — for paper
  18. season — of the year
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. present — a gift

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