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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — the time now
  6. date — the fruit
  7. band — a music group
  8. bore — to tire
  9. clip — a video
  10. craft — boats
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bore — to drill
  13. clip — for paper
  14. band — a ring
  15. cell — in biology
  16. craft — a skill
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cell — a phone
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. present — there
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — an eyelash

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