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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. file — a document
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. clip — to cut
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. fine — all right
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. bat — the animal
  14. clip — for paper
  15. file — a line of people
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. stock — shares
  18. fine — high quality
  19. clip — a video
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. band — a ring
  22. stock — goods
  23. file — a tool
  24. band — a music group

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