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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bear — the animal
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bat — the animal
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. clip — for paper
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. suit — in cards
  11. suit — to fit
  12. scale — in music
  13. suit — clothes
  14. bear — the animal
  15. clip — a video
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. club — for golf
  19. net — in sport
  20. club — a group
  21. net — after costs
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. net — for catching
  24. lash — to lash out

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