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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: content · squash · clip · leaves · bat · stand · bound · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bound — certain
  7. squash — the sport
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. clip — a video
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. content — happy
  12. bound — obliged
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. content — the amount
  15. rest — a break
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bat — the animal
  21. clip — for paper
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. bat — for baseball
  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