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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bear — the animal
  9. stand — to bear
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. swing — in golf
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. scale — in music
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. swing — music
  24. scale — for weighing

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