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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — the time now
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. spring — the season
  5. craft — boats
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. fall — the season
  8. craft — a skill
  9. present — there
  10. spring — of water
  11. fall — to drop
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. pop — to visit
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. clip — to cut
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pop — soda
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. pop — music
  24. ruler — for measuring

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