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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. march — the month
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. march — the month
  11. clip — for paper
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. date — the fruit
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. march — music
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. pound — a weight
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. clip — a video

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