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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. capital — money
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. clip — for paper
  9. capital — a city
  10. clip — a video
  11. club — for dancing
  12. spell — a short time
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. stem — to come from
  15. spell — letters
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. clip — to cut
  18. spell — magic

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