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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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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. tube — a container
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. row — a line
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wind — moving air
  8. clip — a video
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. clip — to cut
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — there
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. row — to paddle
  17. tube — the underground
  18. present — a gift

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