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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. degree — an amount
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. spell — magic
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. clip — a video
  11. spell — letters
  12. dip — to sink
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cell — in biology
  19. degree — from a university
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. degree — temperature
  23. spell — a short time
  24. leaves — lets stay

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