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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 120 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 · sharp · spring · clip · cue · bank · foot · chest

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. squash — the sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. chest — a box
  6. sharp — clever
  7. cue — for pool
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bank — for money
  10. cue — a signal
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bank — for money
  13. spring — a coil
  14. clip — a video
  15. chest — of your body
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. cue — a hint
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. squash — to crush
  22. foot — a measure
  23. bank — of a river
  24. foot — part of the body

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