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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: squash · rash · race · clip · face · leaves

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the sport
  3. rash — hasty
  4. race — a contest
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. face — to confront
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. clip — for paper
  10. face — part of the head
  11. clip — to cut
  12. race — the arms race
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. face — to point toward
  15. clip — a video
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. rash — a series
  18. race — humankind

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