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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: pop · squash · drill · straw · chest · rule · perch · clip

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. drill — a practice
  3. clip — a video
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pop — music
  7. rule — government
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. clip — to cut
  10. squash — to crush
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pop — to visit
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pop — soda
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. clip — for paper
  17. drill — army training
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rule — a law
  21. chest — of your body
  22. squash — the sport
  23. chest — a box
  24. drill — the tool

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