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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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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: nail · squash · clip · rock · chest · pit · spring · cell

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  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. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. chest — a box
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. cell — in biology
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pit — a hole
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. spring — a coil
  11. chest — of your body
  12. squash — to crush
  13. rock — a stone
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. spring — of water
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rock — music
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pit — in a race
  20. spring — the season
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. chest — of your body
  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