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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. content — the amount
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. wound — an injury
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. clip — to cut
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. capital — a city
  11. pit — a hole
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pit — in a race
  14. bank — of a river
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. clip — a video
  18. bank — for money
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bank — for money
  21. content — happy
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — a phone
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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