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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fall — to drop
  3. spell — a short time
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. scale — size or range
  6. spell — letters
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. content — the amount
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. clip — a video
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. clip — for paper
  16. spell — magic
  17. snap — to click
  18. content — happy
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. fall — the season
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. scale — in music
  23. shower — rain
  24. fall — to drop

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