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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cap · bay · wound · squash · rock · clip

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. squash — to crush
  7. clip — to cut
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. cap — of ice
  10. rock — music
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. clip — a video
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rock — a stone

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