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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 116 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. rash — hasty
  3. mug — to rob
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bear — the animal
  7. rash — a series
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. mug — a face
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. clip — for paper
  12. game — a match
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. clip — to cut
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. mug — a cup
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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