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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. chip — to eat
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rest — what's left
  6. race — a contest
  7. cue — a signal
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cue — for pool
  11. rest — a break
  12. ball — a dance
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. ball — a great time
  15. race — the arms race
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cue — a hint
  18. clip — for paper
  19. chip — for betting
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. race — humankind

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