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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. saw — the tool
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bulb — for light
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bulb — for light
  7. clip — to cut
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. object — a thing
  12. clip — a video
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — to protest
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'

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