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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. saw — the tool
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. cold — not warm
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. cold — an illness
  9. clip — a video
  10. bulb — for light
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wound — an injury
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. clip — for paper
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. wound — an injury
  24. saw — the tool

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