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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. clip — to cut
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. clip — for paper
  9. chip — for betting
  10. snap — to click
  11. rock — a stone
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wake — a trail
  15. branch — a division
  16. rock — music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. clip — a video
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. chip — to eat

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