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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — to crush
  3. race — humankind
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. race — the arms race
  6. clip — for paper
  7. can — a tin
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. squash — the sport
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. capital — a city
  16. can — to be able to
  17. race — a contest
  18. ball — a great time
  19. capital — money
  20. clip — a video
  21. ball — a dance
  22. can — a tin
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. clip — to cut

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