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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: snap · spell · squash · arm · clip · pitcher · plane · rule

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. squash — to crush
  6. spell — magic
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. rule — government
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. snap — to click
  12. spell — letters
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — a tool
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. spell — a short time
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rule — a law
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. squash — the sport
  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