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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: squash · lash · pit · content · clip · field · stick · craft

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. clip — for paper
  6. field — for sport
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. craft — a skill
  10. pit — a hole
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. squash — the sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. content — happy
  16. field — farmland
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pit — in a race
  21. craft — boats
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. squash — to crush

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