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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. row — a line
  8. clip — a video
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. band — a ring
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pitch — completely
  19. chair — a leader
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. band — a music group
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. row — to paddle

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