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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 124 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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cue — for pool
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. roll — a cake
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cue — a hint
  12. clip — for paper
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. clip — to cut
  15. race — the arms race
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. roll — a list
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. clip — a video
  24. trunk — of a tree

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