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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. file — a tool
  3. object — to protest
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. ground — the earth
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rock — music
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rock — a stone
  10. clip — a video
  11. current — happening now
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. current — of water
  14. object — an aim
  15. file — a line of people
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. file — a document
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. object — a thing
  21. spell — letters
  22. current — electric
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — magic

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