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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. object — a thing
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — a friend
  11. clip — a video
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. object — to protest
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. hand — in cards
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. land — a country
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. snap — to click
  23. hand — help
  24. clip — to cut

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