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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. clip — for paper
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — hasty
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rash — a series
  10. season — in sport
  11. deal — to handle
  12. season — of the year
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. clip — a video
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. season — to add flavour

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