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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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 document
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. last — final
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. file — a line of people
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. last — to go on
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. file — a tool
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. last — finally
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — a trail
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — exactly

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