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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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468
Word bank
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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rest — what's left
  5. clip — to cut
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. wind — moving air
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. capital — money
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. capital — a city
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pound — a weight
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. clip — a video

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