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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: cabinet · squash · calf · clip · club · cell · content · nail

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. content — happy
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. club — for dancing
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. clip — a video
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. clip — for paper
  10. content — the amount
  11. squash — to crush
  12. club — a group
  13. cell — in biology
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cell — a phone
  17. squash — the sport
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. club — for golf
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cell — in a prison

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