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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: clip · lie · tube · toast · squash · cell · cap · pitch

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. lie — to recline
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cap — a hat
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cell — in biology
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cell — a phone
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. clip — a video
  12. cap — a lid
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pitch — completely
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. cap — of ice
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — a container
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. toast — the most admired

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