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

Word bank: fall · pitcher · racket · bowl · safe · wind · clip · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fall — the season
  5. clip — to cut
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. fall — to drop
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. wind — moving air
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. squash — the sport
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. clip — a video

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