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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. clip — a video
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. object — to protest
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. ground — crushed
  8. saw — the tool
  9. object — a thing
  10. rash — hasty
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. object — an aim
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. saw — the tool
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. clip — for paper
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. ground — a position
  24. rash — a series

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