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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. clip — a video
  3. fall — to drop
  4. ball — a great time
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. current — happening now
  8. fall — the season
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. current — electric
  16. fall — to drop
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. hand — help
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. game — wild animals
  21. clip — to cut
  22. ball — a dance
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. current — of water

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