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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. last — final
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. club — for golf
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bat — the animal
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cell — in biology
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. last — finally
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — a group
  24. last — to go on

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