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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 116 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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. mug — a face
  3. rest — what's left
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. stem — to come from
  13. rest — what's left
  14. clip — a video
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. mug — a cup
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mug — to rob
  20. clip — for paper
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. spring — the season

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