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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: snap · march · clip · squash · pit · date · calf · wake

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. date — the fruit
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. march — the month
  7. pit — in a race
  8. march — music
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. snap — to click
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wake — a trail
  18. clip — to cut
  19. march — the month
  20. pit — a hole
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. squash — to crush
  24. calf — a young animal

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