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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: squash · bear · land · clip · straw · fine · date · snap

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bear — the animal
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. fine — high quality
  8. clip — a video
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bear — the animal
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. squash — to crush
  19. clip — for paper
  20. fine — all right
  21. snap — to click
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. land — a country

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