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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 bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. drill — army training
  4. cell — in biology
  5. clip — a video
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. cell — a phone
  11. clip — for paper
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. bat — the animal
  14. firm — a company
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. firm — steady
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. firm — decided
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wake — a trail

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