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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: prune · row · toast · clip · squash · wave · press · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. prune — to trim
  9. clip — to cut
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. press — to push
  15. toast — bread
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. clip — a video
  18. prune — to trim
  19. squash — to crush
  20. press — a publisher
  21. row — to paddle
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. squash — the sport
  24. press — newspapers

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