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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. capital — a city
  3. clip — for paper
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. file — a line of people
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. mate — a friend
  8. perch — the fish
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. clip — a video
  12. race — humankind
  13. file — a tool
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. mate — to breed
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. capital — money
  18. file — a document
  19. clip — to cut
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pass — a permit
  23. race — a contest
  24. mate — a partner

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