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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. staff — employees
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. clip — for paper
  5. staff — employees
  6. clip — a video
  7. kid — to tease
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. staff — a stick
  11. shower — to wash
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. kid — child
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — ground
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. land — a country
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. rush — hurry
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. clip — to cut

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