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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. court — of a king
  5. rule — a law
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. swing — music
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. swing — in golf
  10. root — of a plant
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. root — of a word
  14. court — for sport
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. mine — for digging
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. court — of law
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. clip — a video
  23. rule — government
  24. root — the cause

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