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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. clip — to cut
  3. fall — to drop
  4. content — happy
  5. clip — for paper
  6. press — a publisher
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. press — to push
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — the amount
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a partner
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. mate — a friend
  17. press — newspapers
  18. clip — a video

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