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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: clip · lie · rule · squash · bat · cabinet · rush · deal

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rule — a law
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. squash — to crush
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. clip — to cut
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rule — government
  17. squash — the sport
  18. rush — hurry
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. clip — a video
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

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