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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. cell — in biology
  7. mine — for digging
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. dip — to sink
  11. rule — government
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. rule — a law
  15. clip — a video
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — to come from
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. row — a line
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. stem — a stem cell

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