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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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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: game · pop · squash · arm · clip · toast · fan · spring

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. spring — a coil
  5. pop — music
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. game — a match
  10. squash — the sport
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. game — wild animals
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pop — soda
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. clip — to cut
  20. squash — to crush
  21. pop — to visit
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. toast — bread
  24. arm — a part of something

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