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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
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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: wake · board · calf · scale · squash · clip · mine · track

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. track — to keep track
  5. squash — the sport
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. track — a song
  9. board — a committee
  10. clip — to cut
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. track — a path
  13. scale — in music
  14. wake — a trail
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. board — to get on
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. clip — a video
  24. scale — size or range

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